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Monday, January 09, 2006

Ind. Gov't. - Still more on: Lake County printing contracts questioned

"Flawed printing contracts to get closer look by county" is the headline to a story today by John Byrne in the Gary Post-Tribune. Some quotes:

Lake County government apparently has been overpaying by tens of thousands of dollars for annual printing contracts.

Problems with the printing bids, which the Post-Tribune first brought to the attention of the Board of Commissioners, are much more common than officials first believed.

Responding to a mandate from the commissioners that they verify the contents of their requests for forms, booklets and other paper products for 2006, county departments reported widespread problems with the lists on which printing companies base their bids.

In some cases, departments reported more than half the bid lists were incorrect, despite the fact the commissioners office is supposed to update the printing requests before sending them out to bid each year.

After the Post-Tribune reported in early December that two arrest reports included in the printing specifications for the Sheriff’s Department had not been used in years, the commissioners pledged not to approve any printing contracts until completing an internal audit of the printing requests for all 25 Lake County departments. * * *

Based on the results of the commissioners’ audit, the county has been ordering reams of unneeded paper.

The Lake County Clerk’s Office, for instance, reported to the county Purchasing Department that 15 of the 28 paper forms on the 2006 bid sheet are obsolete.

For background, see these 12/4/05 and 12/6/05 ILB entries.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 9, 2006 12:58 PM
Posted to Indiana Government