Letter to Vermont Legislators: Montpelier, we have a problem

3/26/2014 UPDATE:  For whatever reason ; )   since this was originally published, the Agency decided to issue the rebid.  I'd specifically asked the previous week.    The original post here has been re-edited to reflect the Agency's decision to rebid, though we noted the agency has inserted language to protect it from appeals.

There continues to be a lack of independent review of the Agency's bid process.  Hopefully they will have representation this time from the cities and towns and schools who actually receive the services.  When I was at Massachusetts DEP, the DPGS (procurement office) reviewed our bidding procedures, and appeals were considered part of the "checks and balances".  It remains to be seen how Vermont deals with the prospect of scandal.

After restating our request as a "FOIA", we got the state costs paid under the new contract for the first quarter.

Wait what?  Let's zoom in..

Cost per pound under the new state contract:  $0.42 (if you leave in the 10 days of the injunction, when Good Point charged 28 cents per pound).   Recall that ANR staff testified, under oath, in court, that the difference in cost was negligible, less than a penny per pound.

Attached is an open letter to the Vermont Legislators who are considering the 22 pages of red tape aimed a the Independent Plan, which would become statute (law) rather than a negotiated settlement once ratified.

State Hate 2: Marshmallow Test, Cognitive Risk of Investment= Tea Party

I like both the story of the Stanford "Marshmallow Test" and this follow up (Cognition, as covered by Maggie Steverns in Slate). In the 1972 experiment, a treat was put in front of kids, and the kids were told that if they didn't eat it, and waited 15 minutes, they'd get another one. The kids who waited grew up to be very successful, those who ate the marshmallow did not tend to do well. I believe that, for sure. What this follow up points out is that kids who don't wait, who eat the marshmallow rather than wait 15 minutes, tend to come from backgrounds or societies where marshmallow-givers (authorities, adults) are liars.

I observed this in Africa. When a government or business management is corrupt, the cynicism "trickles down" and undermines saving and achievement throughout society. The people not involved directly in the corruption still develop unsuccessful habits.

Yesterday's post was obnoxiously cross-referential (pedantic obfuscation is tautologous).   Today, marshmallow analogies.

"State hate" issues pan the political spectrum.   Anti-war protests, or anti-environmental-regulation...  Those who believe in active government (to either curb abortion, or to provide it) may dislike the current office holder immensely. But perhaps they don't actually hate the "state" itself. 

What if you invested, really sacrificed, stayed late moving TVs until 2AM, without pay, risking your family's savings, risking your good name (that you would do what you said you would do with the material), and someone in the government ate your @#$ing marshmallow?  That's where tea parties and anarchists find followers.

Heroin Distribution and Procurement Corruption: The Vermont Experience

"Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't."  Pete Seeger 1919-2014

This month, the Governor of Vermont, Peter Schumlin, made a very brave "State of the State" address, admitting Vermont has a problem - opiates, heroin and meth.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step in Vermont's program.    Thinking "it's a city problem" and we don't need treatment centers is a big mistake.

Another big mistake?  Unlike neighboring states, Vermont has no "procurement law".   It has a representative at BGS on National Association of State Purchasing Officials (NASPO.org).   But when Vermont's administration of it's "E-waste" contract was questioned - not just by the lower and more qualified (per ANR, not in dispute) bidder (me), but by the Solid Waste Districts (customers), and Superior Court Justice (in an injunction) Vermont ANR's response was to quash the FOIA request, and use a "calendar tactic" (redirecting the injunction to Environmental Court, adding a 7 month delay).  (For a reporters coverage of curious contract language written outside of the RFP for CWST, see this article in Vermont Digger, complete with changed signature dates.  Also see Vermont's refusal of the Freedom of Information Act Request at bottom of this blog).

If Vermont thinks it doesn't need a procurement law, like Massachusetts Chapter 30B, it's travelling down the same path as the heroin denial of the past decade.

Yeah, I love my job, and I'm proud of my work, but I'll have other opportunities if ANR's staff's stated objective - to replace Good Point Recycling - is carried out.  And yes, ANR's program manager actually SAID that prior to the RFP being issued (which by itself should have warned the state it needs procurement training).  David Mears, her boss, actually referred to "procurement laws" in defending the state's contracting with Casella (strategically hostile to the Manufacturer Independent Plan, to the point of possible anti-trust and flow control).

It's not a great position to be in, waiving a bloody shirt, crying over a lost bid and hostile regulators.   Why did I do it?  I did it in response to the letter below, from the wife of a subcontractor.  The real loser is the working class.

Good Morning Robin,

I am Harry XXXXs wife, remember he works [nonprofit subcontractor]? I have taken this way out step to contact you because for 5 years now I have constantly had this thought that will not leave me alone that Harry should be working for you. As you probably know Harry at home created a program that can wipe and refurbish up to 50 computers at a time. Harry is also a Linux person, that is recognized around the world and becoming more popular every year. He installs Linux on PC'S that have a tag that is destroyed so Microsoft does not recognize it.

My thought Robin, if you and Harry could see a future in working together, Harry could refurbish your product here at our home. He would still work for XXXX, but in my heart I feel your business would be the best for Harry's

future. Harry is responsible, honest and quiet unless you get him going, then he can tell jokes like no one else, a team player.

I had hopes that you would have had more to do with [our nonprofit] I felt it would have been a good thing. Maybe you could stop in the store on XXX St. in XXX, Vermont, and just look around. No one knows I am writing you, XXX loves what he does and I have felt with your business mind, could be a winning partnership.

Thank you for your consideration on this matter.

Helen XXXX

9 South XXXX St.

XXXXX, Vt. 05XXX

Vermont's Heart

The Governor of Vermont, Peter Schumlin, wants environmental jobs, and wants R2 certification, and wants to wear a white hat.   But he knows he has a problem at the Agency of Natural Resources.   The Agency is protecting itself by using the very line of appeals to clog an Environmental Court docket, essentially shielding itself from bid challenges.