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Mowing contract is fair, square, prosecutor says
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - April 13, 2012)
Mowing contract is fair, square, prosecutor says
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR
Munson Township Trustees took a little longer than usual to award mowing bids for various township properties.
Munson, like many other townships, regularly awards bids for mowing at parks, cemeteries and town halls.
But this year the board faced a little different situation when one trustee had to recuse himself. Trustee Todd Ray immediately removed himself from the process when his older brother's landscaping firm, Ray Landscaping, joined in bidding for the work.
Mr. Ray said his brother's company did not bid previously for township work but chose to do so this year. "I was careful about observing the rules for conflict of interest," he said.
But fellow trustees, saying they were uncertain about how to proceed, tabled the matter and contacted the Geauga County Prosecutor's Office for guidance.
Assistant Geauga County Prosecutor Rebecca Schlag wrote that Mr. Ray properly recused himself and did not participate in discussions or deliberations in the matter.
She cited a section of the Ohio Revised Code which states no public official shall knowingly "authorize, or employ the authority or influence of his office to secure authorization of any public contract in which he, a member of his family, or any of his business associates has an interest."
Ms. Schlag said the board of trustees could still award the bids to Ray Landscaping, regardless of the familial connection.
"In the case involving the brother-landscaper, the proposed contract supplies the necessary services; he is the apparent low bidder for the services; there is no preferential treatment and the entire transaction is at arm's length, since the remaining board members are aware of the family connection and Mr. Ray has abstained from discussion and decision. Therefore, the board is free to award the project to this landscaper," she wrote.
Following the prosecutor's advice, trustees selected contractors on the lowest price bid for the work. That provided the bulk of the work to Ray Landscaping and Munson Valley Landscaping, two local businesses.
That marked a change from how the township previously awarded bids, Mr. Ray said. In the past, they have attempted to support area businesses by spreading the work around among landscapers, he said. This time, acting on the prosecutor's advice, the board handed out the work to those who offered the lowest price.
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