WILL Associate Counsel Tom Kamenick discusses the likelihood that MMSD contracting policies are illegal.
Tom Kamenick, an attorney with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, reviewed both the MMSD contracting policy and the state law and concluded that, “Based on the language, I think the policy violates state law.” Kamenick pointed out that it is possible, “MMSD might argue that they actually are giving the contract to the lowest bidder, because in the end, one of the contractors with the lowest bid is getting the contract.” But such an argument, he says, misses the point of sealed bids – which are required by law. “Once you’re telling one bidder what somebody else has bid, that’s no longer sealed bids. The whole point of requiring sealed bids is to prevent this kind of cronyism – letting your buddy know what the lowest bid was so they can match or beat it.”
This isn’t the first time WILL has cautioned MMSD on the legality of its activities.