The recycling district in Pulaski County has paid more than $160,000 for outside media services this fiscal year to a company owned by a woman who works for the district, without a contract or bidding process.
That is more than 10 percent of the Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District's $1.4 million budget for fiscal 2019, which began July 1.
Morris Media & Management is run by Leslie Morris, who also has been paid $5,000 per month for working as the district's waste-tire coordinator since last spring. Before that, she had worked on an hourly basis doing data and record entry for the district's waste-tire program since July 2017.
The $160,822.39 paid to Morris Media & Management includes amounts spent on printing and television ad buys, in addition to Morris' fees. The district spent a total of $183,485.54 from July through October on special projects, recycling education, recycling programs, the recycling incentive program and electronics recycling education. The district split the other $22,663.15 in payments among seven other companies.
District Executive Director Craig Douglass told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday afternoon that he will tell the district's board at its meeting today that he plans to place a request for qualifications for media services in the future.
"I don't have any problem at all doing that. Why not?" he said, adding that his experience in advertising and public relations means he already knows what he'll get from advertising and public relations firms that submit their qualifications for business.
Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman Young, who took over as the district board's chairman Jan. 1, told the Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday that she was aware of the work Morris Media & Management has done for the district.
"It does seem to be that there should be a contract," she said.
Before incorporating Morris Media & Management in July 2017, Morris worked for Douglass as an advertising account executive and started a nonprofit with Douglass in December 2017 called Recycling Research Resources. The nonprofit's intent was to do research to assist public and private entities in their recycling-related decision-making, Douglass said. Morris and Douglass said that nonprofit has yet to do any research projects.
Douglass has been the district's executive director since July 1, 2017, after being hired in May of that year. When he took over, he said, the district had a year's worth of waste-tire manifests it had yet to enter into the manifest data system. So he asked Morris to come in on an "as-needed basis."
"She's one of the most organized people I've ever met in my life," he said.
Douglass called Morris' position as waste-tire coordinator an "independent contractor," although Morris never signed a contract for employment. Her responsibilities since she started more than a year ago are in limbo as he anticipates state waste-tire regulations to change again.
"I mean, what am I contracting for? I've got a program that continues to change," Douglas said.
Morris said she thinks of being the waste tire coordinator and doing the bulk of the district's media work as separate, unrelated jobs.
"I just do the projects," she aid. "I just do things as people ask."
Morris took over as district waste tire coordinator for Stacy Ford, who left the district in 2017. Ford was also a licensed illegal dumps control officer, a position now held by Calvin Wilson at a rate of $5,000 per month. Wilson, like Morris, does not have a contract but is considered an "independent contractor" by Douglass. Previously, Ford was the only person who filled both roles, which were considered a single job.
Regional Recycling and Waste Reduction District is a state solid waste district. It operates only in Pulaski County but is part of a nine-county waste-tire district.
Solid waste districts are funded through varying fees and disbursements from state government but are locally operated. The district in Pulaski County has a board consisting of the county judge and the mayors of the county's six cities of 2,000 or more people.
Regional Recycling follows Pulaski County's procurement policies, Douglass said.
Various attorneys general have opined that solid waste districts, in addition to counties, are subject to Arkansas Procurement Law, which is outlined in subchapter 2 of Title 19, Chapter 11 of the Arkansas Code.
Counties are also subject to state procurement regulations under subchapter 8, which concerns contracting for professional services, said Association of Arkansas Counties Chief Legal Counsel Mark Whitmore.
According to both sections of code, public agencies must go through processes for selecting a provider of professional services.
Whitmore said it would be "unusual" to pay a company $160,000 without a contract.
"I would want to see what the circumstances were," he added.
Pulaski County's procurement policy states that services subject to competitive bidding costing $20,000 or more require a formal Request for Proposal, and services subject to competitive bidding costing less require an informal Request for Proposal.
If the professional service does not require competitive bidding, the agency must obtain and document at least three vendor quotes, including at least one from a "small, minority, or woman owned" business, if possible.
Morris said she didn't know whether she would do any advertising work for the district in 2019.
Douglass said the district was spending too much money on the increased payments to Waste Management for recycling to do advertising. Those payments will be made through March.
As Morris understands it now, she said, the district has no media campaign after the 2018 recycling education push. That included news releases, promotional advertisements and educational advertisements on KTHV-TV, Channel 11.
Morris said she doesn't see the need for a contract right now.
"That would mean they have to be committed to something, and right now there's no commitment," she said.
A Section on 01/16/2019