City Auditor Stan Sewell has been asked to look into the handling of a process for choosing a firm to provide medical services at the city employee health clinic.
Several City Council members referred to possible leaks of information relating to the Request for Proposals process.
Ryan Ewalt, city COO, said he also welcomed an inquiry into whether information about the various bids got out when they should not have. City officials said it was the city who requested the audit.
He said a sheet of information about the process has been distributed recently, and he said a former doctor of the current provider (Marathon Health) was seen distributing it. He called the sheet not "facts" but "fiction."
Council members indicated the sheet seemed to have some inside information, which needed to be checked out.
Mr. Ewalt stressed the confidentiality of the RFP process and said city officials were limited on information they could provide on the various proposals. He said more could be said in an attorney-client meeting behind closed doors with the city attorney. That was set for Nov. 28.
Marathon has had the city contract for 12 years. The city issued a Request for Proposals, and One to One Health was recommended.
Officials said the firm was significantly lower in cost and has an emphasis on wellness.
However, Councilman Chip Henderson said, "When 98.2 percent of city employees say they are satisfied with the service, I've got to have a darn good reason to switch."
Mr. Ewalt said officials are concerned that the percentage of city employees using the clinic has dropped from 53 percent to 42 percent. Councilwoman Jenny Hill agreed that type of decline "cannot be sustained."
Mr. Ewalt said the One to One bid is $1.5 million lower than that of Marathon.
Councilman Henderson said he is concerned when three bidders are around the same level and one is way lower. He said, "That usually means they left something out. They don't worry about it because they will make it up with change orders."
Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod said these types of issues should have come up when the City Council on April 18 approved moving forward with the RFP. She said the council likely was "rushed" to approve it.
Mr. Ewalt agreed that was the time for a detailed discussion about the issue.
He said it is hoped that if a new firm is chosen it will retain some of the current medical personnel at the clinic.
He said whichever provider is chosen, the clinic will continue to have the same number of doctors, nurses and counselors.
The contract does not involve the gym or the pharmacy.