County Needs to Change Ways

* Re “County Moving Too Slowly on Needed Change,” Sept. 28 Orange County Voices:

The American Society of Civil Engineers concurs with the F grade given to Orange County regarding contract reform. For several years, ASCE has written letters, and the representatives have also met with the Board of Supervisors and senior county managers requesting contract reforms to eliminate political favoritism, lobbying, and the widely held perception that campaign contributions influence consultant selection for award of contracts.

ASCE, together with other architectural and engineering professional organizations, has proposed contract reform consistent with every other major governmental agency in California. However, the county has taken very little action until now. We therefore recommend that the county eliminate the current unranked slate of consultant selection and use a qualifications-based selection, as required by the state and federal law, to select a single firm. We also recommend that lobbying be eliminated during the selection process.

C.T. BATHALA

President, Orange County Branch

American Society

of Civil Engineers