June 13, 2006 Open and Fair Process for Hiring Architects and Engineers

The Construction Oversight Committee voted yesterday to recommend to the full commission that the county use a Statement of Interest and Qualifications when hiring architects and engineers to work for the county.

[Each firm's Statement of Interest and Qualifications would include information about the firm, licensing and insurance data, experience, references, etc.]

Over the past several years, the county has "picked" an architect or engineer without advertising that a project is planned and without looking at the qualifications of all interested architects and engineers.

If the proposal that I put forward yesterday passes in the full commission on June 22, the process will change and become more open and fair.

In the open and fair process, the county will send out letters to local architects and engineers and advertise in the newspaper with notification that a project is planned.

If an architect or engineer is interested in being considered for the work, he or she will send back a Statement of Interest & Qualifications to the county.

I'm cautiously hopeful at this point, but I know that there are some individuals who want to be able to pick whomever they want without even considering anyone else who is qualified.

Making this change reflects a desire to be fair to all qualified professionals in these fields when the county needs these services.

Two words sum it up: openness and fairness.

Open the process up and let interested architects and engineers know when a project is planned and invite them to participate in a fair forum.

There are many qualified architects and engineers. They all deserve an opportunity to submit their qualifications to the county for consideration.

I think the turning point in the discussion came when each commissioner was asked to put himself or herself in the shoes of an architect or engineer.

If you are an architect or engineer in Hamblen County, if you pay taxes in Hamblen County, and if you are well-qualified, shouldn't you be notified when architectural and engineering services are needed? Shouldn't you be allowed to participate?

The answer, I think, is "yes." I hope that many other commissioners will think that the answer to those questions is "yes" on June 22 so we can have an open and fair process.