Sunday, March 8, 2009

Michael Lamb and the Public Square Project

Days after I conducted this little interview with City Controller Michael Lamb, I attended the introductory workshop for something called PittPoint.

The project's mission is to provide "citizen journalists" with the training, resources and organization to eventually produce a collaborative online web-zine about local government.

As I left the workshop, I couldn't help but think that if I already had access to a roomful of collaborators and mentors, the interview with Mike Lamb would have gone much better.

The "professional journalist" who was present on the first day to lead a discussion and answer questions (from what I understand, he wasn't the main paid journalist who is going to be involved, but he is involved all the same) said that the most important factor for conducting good interviews is PREPARATION.

I had a pretty clear idea what I wanted to ask our Controller about, but I imagine if I had enunciated my thoughts to a roomful of collaborators -- hearing their suggestions and benefiting from their own researches -- that would have enabled me to bring a much tighter game to the table.

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Case in point: the first thing I asked about was the street-salting audit.

"What was that again?" I asked.

Basically, Lamb says the Department of Public Works already adds a chemical additive into the salt used for snow removal -- but only when the weather dips below a certain temperature. We typically have the stuff in stock; we just don't go through very much of it.

The Controller's Office audit suggested there are benefits to using that additive all the time. Even factoring in the increased costs, doing it that way he says would net the City about $300,000 in savings.

I asked what was the reception to that audit.

"I think the reception to that is that is something to take a serious look at."

From his understanding of conversations with the Mayor's office and the Department of Public Works, Lamb says it looks like we might be about "a year to eighteen months out" from implementing that little reform.

When asked about exact monetary figures involved in the calculation, Lamb referred me to the full audit that is online. He swivelled over to his computer and searched through the City website.

"That one is not on here," he said eventually. "Why isn't that one on here? It was on here."

In this case, my lack of preparation actually led to a neat discovery. He said he'd put it online quickly (and he did).

Also included in the "Salt Audit" was the "Pothole Audit" -- Lamb says "We observed a number of pothole patch techniques that are not best practices."

"Throwing cold patch in a hole and driving a truck over it," for example. "We compare [the efficiencies of] that to best practices."

We asked what was the reception to that portion of the audit.

"[The Department of Public Works] didn't disagree -- I think they said what you said."

What I had said was, what about a circumstance in which a large number of pretty serious potholes broke out all at once -- would not time be of the essence, from the perspective of sheer public safety?

The impression that we got from Mr. Lamb was that is certainly a temptation -- but under critical examination, it's still not the superior practice.

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Speaking of putting data up on the web, I asked Lamb about his efforts to get City contracting information online and easily accessible.

"I just signed the contract with the company we're using," Lamb informed us. "God that got tied up in C.I.S., the Mayor's office, the Law Department".

However, Lamb says we are now on track to show every City contract, by vendor and with detailed descriptions, in a fully searchable format, "by the end of the 1st quarter of this year."

Campaign finance information is also going to be put online, in a separate but similar user-friendly database. Updated information will go up shortly after it's filed with the Allegheny County Department of Elections.

"The goal," explained Lamb, "and this is something Peduto and I've been working on -- then what we want to do is go back and enter the annuals for everyone."

"My feeling is, this needs to be independent" Lamb said of the effort and the need to contract out the work. He says he has a lot of respect for the personnel staffing the city's C.I.S. division, but since everyone has an interest in the information that is being made transparent, the city really needed a disinterested manager.

I asked if it makes any sense to merge the two databases -- contracting and contributions -- so that one can enter the name of a firm, and receive a list both of City contracts and of campaign contributions. Lamb said he appreciates the sentiment behind that, but doesn't think that would illustrate anything.

A lot of these players change the names of their firms so often, he said, using what amounts to so many aliases. Presenting the data like that could provide users with a false sense of completeness and security where none should exist.

"I'd rather just put the information out there," Lamb said, "and let people make what they want to make of it."

As far as the contracting information goes, none of this applies to contracts awarded by the city Authorities, which are run by mayor-appointed boards but are technically "instrumentalities of the State".

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"Right now we have finalized our end of the ALCOSAN audit," Lamb informed us. Once fully completed, the Authority has two weeks to respond to the audit before it goes public as per usual.

A Housing Authority audit (the Matt H audit) has also been completed. "I think ... did we send that over yet? Yeah, I think they should have that by now."

Right now Michael Lamb says he has moved on to auditing the Mayor's office -- it'll be "the same audit we did for Council." This will be another performance audit -- not just an accounting of numbers, but hopefully demonstrated recommendations as to "best practices".

"Grants. The Mayor's Service Center. Board appointments" he listed as examples.

"Board appointments?" I asked.

"Yeah, that came out of the Housing Audit", replied Lamb. Apparently, there are potential inefficiencies to be had if board, commission and authority positions remain vacant -- or perhaps if they are filled in a certain way.

We asked about the URA's Streetface program -- wasn't that coming under some scrutiny?

"Streetface was audited in 2007", Lamb pointed out. He said he was "a little reluctant" to open up Streetface again so soon, considering how much stuff there is to examine in city government. But he did readily admit the 2007 audit, conducted by his predecessor, was "not particularly enlightening."

"I was [involved] with Bernardo Katz," Lamb clarified. What was occurring over there in Beechview he twice described as not Streetface itself, but "like Streetface."

The funds in question Lamb said came from a specific state fund -- a state grant delivered by former Republican state rep Michael Diven. We asked Lamb what he knew about federal prosecutors now getting involved in this Bernardo Katz situation --what is falling under the microscope, who is interested, what activity appears to be the target of the investigation.

"We actually know what was going on over there," Lamb says -- Katz was acquiring property with public funds, he says, and then mortgaging some of them near-simultaneously at two separate banks.

"It's amazing that this can happen," he said. According to Lamb it has been federal Treasury agents examining Katz for mortgage-related fraud.

We asked if Lamb knew anything about the other two names appearing as targets in that federal probe -- financial guys and alleged co-conspirators hailing from eastern suburbs. He didn't have a clear picture.

We asked about earlier reported efforts of the City Controller to solicit the cooperation of Pat Ford on matters such as these.

"Pat Ford has no legal obligation to respond to me," Lamb acknowledged. However, he went on to disavow any particular need for him to do so. "We're still proceeding".

Those published reports made it sound like Lamb obliquely threatened to refer his review of some controversial parking lot contracts to State Auditor General Jack Wagner, who wields a form of subpoena power. "That's what they [the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] made it look like I said," Lamb said, by way of explanation.

This review is in reference to contracts awarded to a firm that did not appear remotely to be the lowest responsible bidder for the work -- one that had also made significant political contributions to the Mayor prior to winning the contract. A lot of transactions over the past year have come in for scrutiny -- in the absence of a roomful of citizen journalists, it was getting hard to keep track.

"We can audit the record," Lamb said of the troublesome McTish, Kunkel & Associates parking lot contract which instigated his review. "We can do a fair audit. Make recommendations as to best practices. Highlight some of the inefficiencies."

For the record, we asked Controller Lamb whether he or his office had ever been approached personally by any state, federal, or other official investigatory bodies who may be inquiring into these several situations. No, never. Would he be happy to cooperate if asked to do so by an official investigator of any kind. Yes, yes he'd be happy to cooperate if it were ever asked of him. Would he comply with any subpoena. Yes, yes, he'd comply with anything.

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There you have it. More data points, loosely tethered, Pittsburgh Comet-style. This may not have been the most cohesive blog product I've ever presented to you, but with the help of well-intentioned folks like those involved with the Public Square Project, we can all expect to do better and better in the future, making our government ever more transparent and accountable.

17 comments:

  1. "Loosely tethered" = great description, sadly.

    Too little and too late on many issues.

    Crazy that Mr. Lamb does not control his own web pages.

    Crazy that Mr. Lamb would release his audit to the authority boards -- if he tip-toes over to them -- before he shares it with the public. That's not transparent.

    Campaign finance reform data that comes out late is worthless. The elections are already past.

    The hurdle isn't the donors changing their names. The hurdle is the lack of accountability that he's sustaining.

    Now ready to track city contracts by the end of the first quarter of this year.

    Mike Lamb needs to hire outside folks when he should be doing it himself.

    Did you ask him about the city controller candidates that ran the auto sales program? Did you ask him about the audit of the controller's office he wanted from outside vendors too?

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  2. Responding to some of Mark's comments:

    Crazy that Mr. Lamb would release his audit to the authority boards -- if he tip-toes over to them -- before he shares it with the public. That's not transparent.

    The impression we have received from Lamb and others is that this two-week response period is required by rule -- though perhaps it is only by convention. Can't find it in the Charter, at least not yet.

    Nonetheless, I can see how the allowance of a preliminary response from an audited agency can be beneficial to the final product of the audit. And I can imagine a scenario in which a Controller lets slip some information that genuinely would be rightly classified by an attorney as private or proprietary.


    Campaign finance reform data that comes out late is worthless. The elections are already past.

    He says it should be up by the end of the 1st quarter of the year, right? Does this mean the end of March in humanspeak? That would be ample time, IMO, if that's right and it gets executed.

    Did you ask him about the city controller candidates that ran the auto sales program? Did you ask him about the audit of the controller's office he wanted from outside vendors too?

    No. I did ask him if he's getting his office physically and mechanically up to speed, which was an issue when he was running for the office. He said yes. He's about to get rid of a long, curved, not-ceiling-height wall that strategically shields the view of what could be a good half dozen office personnel. So that, of course, one can see that people are working in there.

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  3. Were these softball questions? Did you ask any tough questions?

    This reminds me when Matt said he would tell the mayor to his face about riding on the players float and had an opportunity but wussed out.

    Moral of the story. Don't wuss out like some other bloggers.

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  4. What tough questions would you have recommended?

    Unlike Papa Bear Bill O'Reilly and some others, I don't conduct interviews to "tell people" anything "to their face". Often enough that winds up happening regardless, but it is almost always inefficient.

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  5. "This reminds me when Matt said he would tell the mayor to his face about riding on the players float and had an opportunity but wussed out."

    When did I wuss out? Luke knows we don't see eye to eye on everything. I told him as much today when I was with him at the endorsement.

    Thanks for bringing me up though. I love how my name pops up out of nowhere.

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  6. Thanks for bringing me up though. I love how my name pops up out of nowhere.

    It was a decent example. You probably make 20 blog posts a day and have made yourself a public figure with controversial positions. In addition, you frequently criticize people excessively about minor items and make rude remarks. If you did not want that exposure you should have not exposed yourself and continue to do so.

    Carrying on...

    So it just so happened that you told him to his face today? You told him how disappointed you were that he was again the butt of jokes? You scorned the mayor and told him it was unacceptable? You went up to the Mayor and said that and then came here?

    Now why don't I believe that? Do you have any witnesses?

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  7. "You probably make 20 blog posts a day"

    More like 1 per day. At the most 2.

    "yourself a public figure with controversial positions."

    That's your opinion and that's fine. I'm not here to make everyone happy. I could really care less if you think my positions are controversial or not.

    "So it just so happened that you told him to his face today? You told him how disappointed you were that he was again the butt of jokes? You scorned the mayor and told him it was unacceptable? You went up to the Mayor and said that and then came here?"

    Ummm not quite.

    "Now why don't I believe that? Do you have any witnesses?"

    When the Mayor & I speak it is generally one on one.

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  8. We're getting a little sidetracked.

    Hey, Ed Heath! You've got to be out there somewhere. What do you think of what Michael Lamb had to say?

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  9. Ah, The Streetface audit. Jim Ferlo called for that audit after it was discovered that hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer- funded no-payback loans were going to Wylie Holdings. A firm run by Joe Edenstein, a man who spent time in jail for defrauding medicare.

    When the audit came out, it acknowledged the many flaws in the streetface program. It also noted that a inordinate amount of the taxpayer-funded grants went to the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh.

    For some reason (you decide), the controllers office failed to mention the fact that all those URA "grants" went to Wylie Holdings which was the very reason the audit was conducted in the first place.


    BurghReport.



    There is no doubt, when Mr. Lamb took over in the controllers office, the City of Pittsburgh immediately benefited.

    By the way - Anyone know what Mr. Ferlo did about the findings? Unfortunately, I'm not aware of anything.

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  10. Why is it when the lies start flying you want to move it along? Who are you protecting Bram? Are you working both sides?

    "When the Mayor & I speak it is generally one on one."

    Oh, you have meetings often? What do you talk about, the propaganda schedule? You are full of it but please continue so you can look like a bigger fool.

    As an alternative, why not pretend you are a Swiss spy or an oil tycoon? You know, something believable?

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  11. Hey Bram, not to whine but just this month (well, the next six weeks) I get one day off a week and often work 10 hours a day. And yesterday I was shopping and filing out my step daughter’s taxes. (I know, whine, whine) I, for one, appreciate the effort you put in on this.

    But ... I was having a little trouble following all of that. By the way, as a non sequitor, what about beet juice mixed with salt? I heard a thing on NPR.

    So, do the audits result in concrete changes in behavior in the City's government? Do they result in indictments? Recommendations of "best practices" sounds a little toothless, but I wasn't there, so I don't want to sound judgmental.

    When Lamb says the companies change names frequently with reference to campaign contributions, so there is no point in linking contract and campaign contribution databases, is his office willing to track the name changes? Can a company change its name right after it contributes money (but before it submits a bid)? From that passage, it almost sounds like there is no way we could ever know who is giving money to candidates, despite any records kept.

    So I have questions based on what you wrote, FWIW.

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  12. A name change of a company is just worthless FUD.

    No company can make a campaign donation to a candidate. The campaign money comes must from one of two sources: PACs (Political Action Committee) and individuals.

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  13. Ed said -

    So, do the audits result in concrete changes in behavior in the City's government? Do they result in indictments? Recommendations of "best practices" sounds a little toothless...

    Well, forget about the I-word. But yeah, it sounds to me like audits *are* pretty toothless, unless the results are striking and somebody grandstands politically on the conclusions. But I caught myself wondering whether it's actually efficient for a government to perform professional audits of so many functions that can be so easily shrugged off.

    When Lamb says the companies change names frequently with reference to campaign contributions, so there is no point in linking contract and campaign contribution databases, is his office willing to track the name changes?

    I'm not sure anyone could track the name changes and other surreptitious misdirections. Possibly Rich Lord, or a whole van full of citizen journalists.

    Mark said -

    No company can make a campaign donation to a candidate. The campaign money comes must from one of two sources: PACs (Political Action Committee) and individuals.

    That may be true, but if Peter, Paul and Mary all happen to work for Vandelay Industries and they all donate $5,000, it's fairly appropriate to say that top execs at Vandelay Industries donated $15,000. Now, how much more so if Rogers and Simon ALSO work for Vandelay Industries, but they each donate $5,000 under the name of their "side" project, Rogers & Simon consulting? You can see how this gets hard to track; I think it's likely Vandelay Industries could even contract a specialist, even a middle-man, who is skilled an managing the routing of these funds in a way that doesn't excite scrutiny.

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  14. What?! You say you were having trouble following one of Bram's post, Ed? Well, as Bram says, they're not for everybody. If you want concise writing about current events, read a newspaper. (Again, Bram's advice.)

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  15. Ed also said,

    By the way, as a non sequitor, what about beet juice mixed with salt? I heard a thing on NPR.

    You mean to conduct short-term, critical-care patch work on dangerous potholes while our hot asphalt paving resources are overwhelmed? I was thinking Flubber out of a hose. We should consider all options.

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  16. As regards board appointments , nowadays companies generally resort on executive recruitment firms to call the market for candidates.

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