Ex-D.C. Worker's City Contract Under Scrutiny

The steering committee on which she served from August to November 2004 was formed by the city's Center for Innovation and Reform and included officials from various city agencies. Among the other committee members was Patrick Canavan, then the head of neighborhood services for the mayor's office.

In January, Canavan became the DCRA's director. Morgan recalls mentioning to him at the time that she had started a consulting firm.

Linda Argo, the DCRA's director of customer service, said Canavan was eager to act on the steering committee's recommendation to hire a consultant and tried to award a sole-source contract to Morgan's firm. But the city's contracting office raised objections because contracts of more than $25,000 require more than one bidder.

City documents show that others were asked to bid and given two days to submit proposals. Another firm, All-U-Need Personnel, submitted a bid of $67,756 and noted that for the past four years, it had trained eight employees to provide customer service for DCRA.

After comparing the two proposals, Argo recommended to the city's contracting office that Simple Solutions receive the award. She said she gave "significant consideration" to Morgan because she had served on the steering committee that evaluated the agency's weaknesses and years earlier had developed a citywide customer service program.

Council member Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large) said Morgan's position on the committee might have given her an unfair advantage.

"Is somebody supposed to hear about it and in two days get a proposal back as good as someone sitting on the task force?" Brown asked.

Another factor cited by Argo in her evaluation of the Simple Solutions bid was the involvement of Lisa Mallory-Hodge. Mallory-Hodge also had served on the steering committee and, until January, was director of the Center for Innovation and Reform. By spring, Mallory-Hodge had joined the team that Simple Solutions was proposing for the contract.

Argo wrote in her evaluation that Morgan's and Mallory-Hodge's government experience had "uniquely positioned" them to do the work and to "hit the ground running."

But after receiving the award, Morgan said, she and Mallory-Hodge decided that Mallory-Hodge should not be involved in the contract because she had been director of the government office that created the steering committee.

Morgan said the agreement with the DCRA was not the first contract for her firm. In January, the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission gave Simple Solutions a contract for $187,500 to do a year-long study on the commission's organizational structure.

The DCRA contact ran from July to September. Morgan produced a report on the agency's customer service practices and gave a presentation, Argo said. She said the training component was dropped during the contract period because the review of customer service was so extensive and time-consuming.

Morgan said she told DCRA officials when she gave her final bid that she would not be able to train staff, although the paperwork she submitted said she would conduct pilot training and prepare a "cadre of internal trainers to develop follow-up sessions."

Orange said the city administration needs to justify selecting a contractor whose bid was $30,000 higher than a competitor's and whose work was not completed.

"We need to ensure it's an arm's-length transaction," Orange said. "At the end of the day, I pay $100,000, and you give me $100,000 worth of services. That's what was bargained for in the contract."