The embattled Governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, was rocked by another scandal as Democrats and Republicans alike today shared outrage over the use of state dollars for the Ferguson Commission. The Commission is to receive $975,000 from the state of Missouri and state law requires competitive bidding over any allotment exceeding $3,000:
The Ferguson Commission did not solicit competitive bids for any of the work, though it is slated to receive $975,000 from the state of Missouri, through the Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB), the Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA), Community Development Block Grants and Community Service Block Grants. It has already received $100,000 from the MDFB and $100,000 from the MOHELA. State law requires competitive bidding for any expenditures of $3,000 or more, and further rules if the expenditures are $25,000 or more.
The commission has already paid Vector Communications and Godwin a combined $37,709, records provided to the Business Journal show. Vector is responsible for finding facilities for and running the meetings, among other duties. Emerging Wisdom has so far billed the commission for nearly $13,000, according to Bennett. Collinger has not yet billed the commission, she said.
Nixon's Commission hired pricey consultants at $125 an hour to “facilitate meetings.” They paid another consultant an additional $125 per hour to “help run and design meetings.” They also hired a public relations firm at the same rate.
They need all of this to “figure out what went wrong?” I first wrote back in November that the Commission was a potential slush fund established by the very people who created the conditions about which they're currently complaining. They voted themselves $100,000 with one nay cast by Missouri's Lt. Governor Peter Kinder.
