TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! MINORITY CONTRACTING GOALS FOR H&R BLOCK MIGHT HAVE DISCREPANCIES. KC COUNCILWOMAN BETH GOTTSTEIN CALLS FOR AN INQUIRY!!!

The latest memo from City Council lady Beth Gottstein could be earth shattering regarding the controversy over money that H&R Block claims to have paid to minority contractors in Kansas City.

I've long contended that Kansas City's "Downtown Renaissance" completely left out or pushed aside minorities and minority contractors but now a member of the council wants to investigate claims made by a number of local contractors who allege discrepancies in the awarding of minority contracts.

Here are just a few of the highlights from the memo:

In her memo sent to City Manager Wayne Cauthen, Gottstein included materials submitted to us by the KC Hispanic Association of Contractors Enterprise (KCHACE). I believe you received them as well. The allegations outlined are alarming and very serious, detailing a litany of erroneous reporting, payments, and monitoring.

Then there's a list of bullet points is where Gottstein makes the strongest case for further investigation:

I am particularly interested in the allegations, surrounding:

• What circumstances led to the communications breakdown and the suggested over-reporting;

• The reference that H&R Block had no written guidelines or policy to ensure compliance;

• The role of pass-throughs and how we monitor MBE/WBE compliance; How a contractor could pay an MBE/WBE as a reported sub, but direct the work to a non MBE/WBE firm;

• E.g., the suggestion that Rodriguez Electrical did no work on the project, but was paid nearly $67,000 for its name. The report details that nearly $3 million was paid for data cabling, but a non-MBE/WBE firm provided the balance of service. A similar misrepresentation is alleged throughout the entire MBE/WBE breakout;

• Why the allegations include the claim that the City permitted the project to deliver at 11% under its mandated breakout, and who was notified of this challenge;

• The processes and communications channel for the MBEs/WBEs to express their complaints during the construction phases;

• The City’s efforts, prior to the hearing, to investigate and resolve the matter;

• Whether the discrepancy between the listed payments of MBE/WBE subs and the corrected amounts were monitored for accuracy, and how the penalty was assessed;

• What practices has the City and TIF Commission made to ensure that we will avoid complaints like these in the future? How have we implemented them? How do we know that they work?

Gottstein then goes on to express a welcomed sentiment that I've rarely heard regarding minority construction contracts in Kansas City:

I am hopeful that we can quickly resolve the matter. As I have said, we do not want to deter developers from investing in our City, especially during economically challenged times. However, we want our City of Choice to be known as one where our MBE/WBEs and other small businesses can thrive.

There's prospect that H&R Block could owe Kansas City as much $14 million if some of these claims turn out to hold merit but even worse than that . . . This is a situation where this blog doesn't enjoy being right at all . . . For years, TKC noted that minority contractors had been excluded from this town's building boom and now, years later, documents are finally starting to surface and folks are finally starting to speak up regarding the allegedly biased way that Kansas City has been constructed.