Solicitor: City contract with GoLocalProv ‘invalid’
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Providence City Solicitor’s Office has found that a no-bid contract between former City Council President Luis Aponte and news website GoLocalProv was “invalid and unenforceable,” according to a statement from current City Council President David Salvatore.
Salvatore last week publicized the contract, which involved the city paying GoLocalProv $67,500 over the course of nearly two years to publish meeting notices, after completing a review of all City Council-related projects. He has called on the website, which was founded by former City Councilman Josh Fenton, to return the money.
The City Solicitor’s Office reviewed the procurement of the contract, which is no longer active, and found that it avoided going through the city’s competitive bidding process.
“… the director of public property has no record that any competitive bids, whether formal or informal, were ever sought prior to the execution of the GoLocal contract,” the solicitor’s opinion says.
The solicitor’s review also found that the contract violated a section of the city’s home rule charter that states that the duties of the city solicitor are to prepare and/or endorse all contracts involving the city.
“The GoLocal contract was prepared on GoLocal stationary and supplied by Joshua N. Fenton … so there can be no contention that the city solicitor prepared it,” the opinion says. “Moreover, the signature page has only a single line for acceptance, in this case by the city clerk.”
The opinion mentions that the city paid to publicize events that had, for three years prior to the contract, been made publicly available for free on the city’s open meeting portal, but says that the solicitor did not “go beyond the legitimacy of the contract to explore the potential misuse of more than $60,000 in city funds.”
Late last week, Mayor Jorge Elorza issued a statement saying that the contract “reeks of cronyism.”
Salvatore has questioned a provision in the contract that appeared to suggest cooperation between GoLocalProv and the city. It said that the website would keep the city “informed of relevant information” and “consult” with the city regularly.
Aponte, who now represents Ward 10 on the City Council, has said the contract was part of an effort to increase the City Council’s outreach and denied there was any cooperation between him and the website beyond the sharing of public meeting information and audience metrics.
Fenton wrote in an email that Salvatore publicized the contract in retaliation for negative coverage about him in GoLocalProv.
“One day after GoLocal raised questions if Council President had clearance from the Ethics Commission for his dual role as a State House lobbyist and Council member relative to his actions of Fane Tower, Salvatore raised this issue,” he wrote.
Salvatore serves as a lobbyist for the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
GoLocalProv provided the service requested by the city and was paid accordingly, Fenton wrote. Each check was approved by the city’s finance department and paid by the Elorza administration, he wrote.
“The Elorza administration approved and paid each invoice,” he wrote. “It seems that Elorza and Salvatore don’t like press coverage of some of the issues pending before the city.
“We are going to continue to report on the Elorza Administration and continue to probe some of Councilman Salvatore’s potential issues,” he wrote.
Fenton asked if Salvatore would call for the resignations of the finance director and the city clerk.
But Salvatore said there would have been no reason for a city employee to flag an individual check when the contract had already approved.
“To put this on the city clerk and to hold her accountable is ridiculous,” he said. The city clerk would have signed off on the contract at Aponte’s request under the assumption that the contract had already been vetted, he said.
Fenton also said Salvatore has not responded to any questions from GoLocalProv since the website asked him about his stance on the Hope Point Tower that has been proposed for Dyer Street by developer Jason Fane.
Salvatore said he chose to stop communicating with GoLocalProv after his review of the contract because he felt it was inappropriate.
He added, “I will never trade taxpayer dollars in exchange for positive coverage or a quote.”
In his statement Thursday, Salvatore again called on GoLocalProv to return the money the city paid it over the course of the contract.
He also called on Aponte to disclose any documentation he received from GoLocalProv during the course of the contract, including audience metrics data and any “relevant information” the website provided, as well as instances where it consulted with the city.
