Saturday, December 8, 2012
Opinion based on 'notoriously complex' state law.
Arlington County Board member Chris Zimmerman's consulting job with a subsidiary of a global company that works with the county does not constitute to a conflict of interest or appearance of conflict, according to County Attorney Stephen MacIssac. MacIssac put the opinion in a memo responding to questions raised this week by Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey. Thursday, Garvey released a series of emails in which she expressed concern over the county adopting guidelines based on the state's Public-Private Transportation Act, or PPTA, which the board will decide following a public hearing Monday. Specifically, Garvey is concerned with the lack of public safeguards in the law and with Zimmerman's involvement in the process. Adoption …
Chairwoman Mary Hynes announced resolution on Saturday. It will be discussed Monday in conjunction with public-private partnerships.
The Arlington County Board on Monday will consider a new transparency measure in an attempt to squash recent allegations that one of its member's employment creates a conflict of interest or appearance of a conflict. The resolution, announced in a statement Saturday by Chairwoman Mary Hynes and board members Walter Tejada and Jay Fisette, would complement the county's likely adoption of guidelines for public-private partnerships to fund major transportation projects. It is in direct response to board member Libby Garvey's release this week of a series of emails where she expressed concern about the new guidelines — specifically, about public safeguards and about board member Chris Zimmerman's involvement in the decision-making process. …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Newest board member also questions public safeguards in public-private partnership guidelines.
Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey is working on two fronts to delay a vote on what's potentially a key funding mechanism for the Columbia Pike streetcar and other major projects. Garvey on Thursday released a number of emails in which she expresses concern about the board's planned adoption of guidelines that would allow public-private partnerships for the development of transportation facilities. Garvey wants fellow board member Chris Zimmerman — a leading proponent of the streetcar — to recuse himself from the matter to avoid a conflict of interest or, just as damning, the appearance of a conflict. "This is NOT about the streetcar for me, but about transparency and ensuring competition on large capital projects," Garvey stated …
Peter
12:15 pm on Monday, December 10, 2012
Seen on another blog: AECOM's corporate offices in Montreal were raided by Quebec provincial anti-corruption police on November 6th. Also seen on another blog: numerous photos and links to videos about state-of-the-art bus rapid transit. more ›