\t\t\t\t\tWhat’s at stake:<\/p>\n
Councilmember Brandon Vang announced Thursday city reforms he\u2019d propose to address gaps in transparency and oversight of city contracts revealed in a Fresnoland investigation published the day prior.<\/p>\n
Less than a day after a two-part Fresnoland investigation<\/a> into under-the-radar city contracts and expenses, Councilmember Brandon Vang announced city reforms he\u2019d champion moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a Thursday statement, Vang said there\u2019s a critical need to strengthen the city\u2019s policies on contracting and \u201cpass-through costs\u201d \u2014 which is the main focus of the second half of Fresnoland\u2019s investigation<\/a> published Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCurrent practices evaluate contracts individually rather than holistically and cumulatively, creating gaps in oversight,\u201d Vang wrote in his statement. \u201cWhen multiple contracts relate to the same scope of work and project, the total investment of taxpayer dollars must be viewed as a whole and subjected to City Council approval.\u201d<\/p>\n While Vang, along with Councilmember Nick Richardson, held a very brief Wednesday news conference<\/a> with few details about how they\u2019d address gaps in transparency revealed in Fresnoland\u2019s investigation. Vang\u2019s Thursday statement offered a few more details.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vang outlined that the reforms he\u2019d push for include ensuring that several contracts going to the same consultant with the same scope of work that cumulatively are worth more than the city\u2019s contracts threshold must go before the Fresno City Council for approval.<\/p>\n