PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia awarded a no-bid contract to oversee community anti-violence grants in 2022 under the Kenney administration, according to a report issued by the city controller Wednesday.
Controller Christy Brady found that the managing director’s office awarded the contract to oversee $14 million in grants through the Department of Public Health, so it could get around the city’s bidding process. The contract went to the Urban Affairs Coalition.
The health department is allowed to skip the bidding process, but Brady says that shouldn’t have happened for the anti-violence grants.
“You’re excluding other possible providers. The whole point of having a bidding process is to have a fair, open and transparent process,” said Brady. “You don’t want to create a perception of favoritism or bias towards a chosen provider.”
The city was clearly in a hurry, though. Brady says officials told the coalition to start working before the contract was ready, then back-dated the contract. Without a contract or even a request for proposals, the scope of the coalition’s work was unclear.
“It led to confusion about what they were supposed to do with the money,” she said.
According to Brady, the problem has been addressed. The managing director took bids to oversee the second round of grants and awarded the oversight grant to Public Health Management.