ConneCtiCut Post

Scrutiny of governor’s use of funds continues

By Ken Dixon

STAFF WRITER

Updated: 10/13/2009

HARTFORD -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell
apparently was on solid legal ground
when she ignored normal competitive
bidding procedures in awarding a
$223,406 contract to a University of
Connecticut professor, a state auditor

said Tuesday.

But Rell, who made ethics the

hallmark of her administration

following the resignation of her

predecessor on corruption charges,
also finds herself the target of
a complaint filed by a former
lawmaker that her actions are
“serious and significant violations
of Connecticut’s campaign finance

laws.”

The twin developments come as
the furor continues over last week’s
disclosure that Rell or her staff
may have used for partisan political
purposes some of the findings of
the contract awarded by her office
for a 30-month study of government
efficiency. Rell has denounced
criticism of the contract as “politics

at its worst.”

While Rell did not use normal

bidding procedures for the contract,

she apparently didn’t have to,

according to a state auditor who has embarked on a joint investigation of the contract with Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

Even though the state Department

of Administrative Services requires

extensive bidding processes
on projects worth $50,000 or
more, Rell’s Office of Policy and
Management was able to give the
project to the university because state
law allows for interagency contracts
without competitive bidding.

“This was actually a memorandum
of understanding between OPM
and UConn,” said Robert G. Jaekle,
of Stratford, one of the two state
auditors, noting that bids may be
waived in cases of contracts between

agencies.

“There is no bidding between
agencies that I can think of,” Jaekle
said in a Tuesday interview. “There
are MOUs between state agencies
that don’t go through the normal
bidding. I hate to call it ‘left pocket,
right pocket’ but it’s true. As this
review with the attorney general’s
office gets going, it’ll get nailed

down.”

Rell’s Capitol office on Tuesday,

citing the investigation into the
contract with Kenneth Dautrich,
a public-policy professor at the
University of Connecticut, declined
comment on the process that led to
awarding the contract for the study
of government efficiency that is
now about half over and has spent

$100,000.

Speaker of the House Christopher G.
Donovan, D-Meriden, said Tuesday
the UConn study Dautrich was
working on -- and which Rell said
has already saved the state millions
of dollars -- appears to have been

for use by her office “and in some

ways for her personal use.” Donovan

said the discretionary funds for

legislative leaders are for local public
works projects or to help fund local
nonprofit agencies throughout the
state that often depend on the extra
help from the Legislature.

“The money’s not supposed to be
spent on yourself, not that there
are any rules,” Donovan said. “It’s

supposed to be spent on projects that
would come up across the state.”
Donovan’s immediate predecessor,
James A. Amann, of Milford, the
former speaker of the House who
iscampaigning for the Democratic
gubernatorial nomination, recalled
Tuesday that in 2005 leaders cut
their contingency accounts from $3
million a year to $2 million a year as

a way to close a gap in negotiations

between Republicans and Democrats.

The money, he said, was used to

support a variety of programs within
the leaders’ districts or within the
districts of caucus members.

Rell came under fire last week amid
reports that Dautrich may have
contributed political advice to the
governor and M. Lisa Moody, the
governor’s chief of staff. Rell has
asked her exploratory-campaign
treasurer to request an opinion from
the State Elections Enforcement
Commission on whether Dautrich’s
advice and about $2,000 spent on
a focus group, might amount to an
unpaid, in-kind contribution that
might violate state regulations.