Former County Commissioner Dan Rawls told members of the Bradley County Commission on Monday night that the panel should hold the annual audit committee meeting prior to the start of early voting - or else it would look like one commissioner was being protected.
He referred to an audit from the state Comptroller's Office that said Commissioner Erica Davis had a conflict of interest on a county job. The audit said a company owned by Commissioner Davis got a subcontract on work that had been approved by the County Commission.
Commissioner Davis said she does not believe it was a conflict.
The Bradley Commission approved Berywood Landscaping to demolish three buildings at Lake Forest Middle School for $45,000. Berywood then subcontracted with Commissioner Davis's TriStar Enterprises to haul debris and topsoil from the site.
Mr. Rawls said the audit committee in the past has met in the first quarter.
He said, "You would think you would want to meet and deal with this issue and clear the air on it. I find it alarming that it appears the commission is protecting this individual. Everybody I've talked to finds it alarming as well.
"Clearly, the state considered this to be a big problem."
He said Ms. Davis is involved in a "contentious" election contest.
Commissioners had no response.
Here is the audit report:
On May 18, 2020, the Bradley County Commission approved a resolution authorizing the county mayor to enter into an agreement with Berywood Landscaping LLC (Berywood) for the demolition of three county buildings located at the Lake Forest Middle School. Berywood was acknowledged in the resolution as the low bidder for this project at $45,000. After entering a contract with Bradley County, Berywood later subcontracted with TriStar Enterprises (TriStar) to haul debris and topsoil from the Lake Forest site. TriStar is a trucking company owned and operated by Erica Davis, who is a member of the Bradley County Commission, and who voted to award the bid to Berywood. Ms. Davis stated that her company performed work on the Lake Forest Middle School property, and she provided auditors with three separate invoices sent to Berywood from TriStar totaling $23,422.50 for hauling services. These payments appear to violate the state conflict of interest statute, Section 12-4-101(b), Tennessee Code Annotated. This statute states that “It is unlawful for any officer, committee member, director, or other person whose duty it is to vote for, let out, overlook, or in any manner to superintend any work or any contract in which any…county…shall or may be interested, to be indirectly interested in any such contract unless the officer publicly acknowledges such officer's interest. “Indirectly interested” means any contract in which the officer is interested but not directly so…”. This noncompliance with state statute is the result of a lack of management oversight.
RECOMMENDATION
County officials should review these payments and resolve the conflict of interest.
MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSE – COMMISSIONER ERICA DAVIS
The entire process, from the creation of the RFP, to the opening, selection, and awarding of bids is handled by the County Mayor. The Commission’s only role is to authorize the Mayor to enter into a contract with the bidder that he selects. After the vote, and only a week prior to work starting on the project, TriStar was contacted by Berywood and asked to provide a quote for specific services, which were provided at a fair market rate. TriStar was later informed by Berywood that their quote had been accepted, and Berywood wished to utilize TriStar for hauling purposes. Work was performed per the request of the contractor, billed, and paid, all in a timely and professional manner. TriStar’s work was performed consistent with an expected, if not greater, standard and in a workmanlike manner. The assertion of potential conflict overlooks the fact that TriStar did not have a contract with the county, as they were providing services for specific work to be done at the time of the request. TriStar has provided all of the records of requested work, billings, and payment. Likewise, Erica Davis in her capacity as Commissioner had no duty to “vote” to select a contractor, or “oversee” the contract between Berywood and Bradley County. It was and remains public knowledge among county officials in Bradley County government that Erica Davis owns and operates TriStar Trucking LLC, and that her company was involved in hauling debris from the Lake Forest demolition site. At no time were any questions raised before, during or in subsequent meetings afterwards regarding the project. Bradley County nor the County technical advisors have a policy prohibiting the performance of the work which was done by a wonderful company and its employees. I have reviewed Attorney General Opinions and do not believe that my company, the county or Berywood have committed any wrong or engaged in any misconduct.
AUDITOR’S COMMENT
The Attorney General’s Office has opined on several occasions regarding conflict of interest statutes that persons who vote on budgets and appropriations “superintend” the contracts paid for by those budgets and appropriations. Therefore, we believe this is an indirect conflict of interest as defined by the governing statute.