The City of New Orleans is grappling with a significant oversight in public funds relating to the Orleans Parish Communication District's mismanaged contract with Hexagon OnCall Records. The Office of Inspector General released a detailed report indicting former Orleans Parish Communication District Director Tyrell Morris for altering documents and sidestepping standard procedures in a failed $6 million project, as reported by WDSU.
According to WDSU, the contract, intended to equip the New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office with improved record management systems, has fallen through without fruition. Karl Fasold, the new director at Orleans Parish Communication District since July, assured, "We're looking to the future. We're moving forward, doing things the right way, being fully transparent, honest." Despite these forward-looking measures, the city is left without the vital systems promised and overpaid on an incomplete project.
Scrutiny into the matter revealed that the former director, Morris, acted without requisite approvals and overlooked internal procurement policies. The Inspector General's report, as per NOLA.com, states that Morris bypassed critical steps in the approval process and subsequently manipulated documents to secure funding. This breach of protocol has resulted in a cost of $3.75 million in public funds on the stagnated Hexagon project, with an additional $800,000 owed.
Furthermore, an investigation by Fox 8 revealed that of the 171 technical requirements for the systems, many were unmet or unproven by Hexagon. The OIG criticized Orleans Parish Communication District policies for being too vague on the scope of authority for the executive director on such substantial contracts. Despite these shortcomings, the Orleans Parish Communication District has accepted the OIG's recommendations, which include revising procurement policies to enhance transparency and creating a formal procedure for partnerships with other governmental entities.
In response to the OIG's findings, the current Orleans Parish Communication District administration has committed to restructuring their operational procedures to prevent similar incidents. "Errors were made, things were done that shouldn't have been, but not by any current employees," as Fasold told WDSU. This commitment also aligns with recommendations from the Inspector General to improve transparency and align with best practices for procurement.
