Vermilion County – More on the No-Bid GIS Contracts –

Nope, they’re not. Based on an out dated definition of the services and interpretations of those rules lobbied for by an organization that has ‘always done it this way’.

So who’s Wheaties got pissed in because they didn’t get the chance to ‘low ball’ the contract? If there was a standing contract that was being satisfactorily executed why would the county want to go through the expense of retooling everything with a new ‘low bid’ vendor?

Retooling? you might ask. Yes that’s how all this technology crapola works. A new, cut rate, vendor walks into the infrastructure created by the original vendor and says ‘this is all sub-par, we need to gut it all and make it ‘right”. Then the county gets stuck with a bill for new hardware, new software and re-training personnel. That expense would likely NOT be in the bid for the job and would generate a huge budget overrun for that department. This is fairly common for technology related contracts, what one company deems acceptable another will find a reason to dismantle.

Addressing each of your points:

1.). Licensure is a gimmick created by professions to ‘control’ their drones. Ask anyone that holds a ‘license’ for working with Microsoft software how well it’s worked for them. Microsoft has lobbied colleges to make them insist that having their certifications will guarantee additional income while charging a fee for students to take the tests. These certs have to be renewed regularly too because software never stands still and neither does the financial machine of a mega corporation.

2.). There is a dramatic difference between skills required to use GIS software and skills required to work in the field surveying and engineering. But, again i ask, where does the data for the GIS software come from?

3.). Hey look, another gimmick to keep the ‘newbies’ in line. The whole concept of journeyman and paying your dues is a very well established system. This creates the ‘good ole boys’ network because you only really have to be ‘good’ while your ‘master’ is watching. After you’re in just pay your dues like a good little sheeple and live life.

4.). Really? So staying up to date on software that is updated several times each year is no continuing educational requirement? So learning how to convert a stand alone GIS project into a web accessible product with mobile capability and live updating through GPS and notes from the field don’t require any kind of continuing education. Let’s not forget the need to understand how geography, demographics, economics and natural disasters alter the scope of everything on a daily basis. Then there’s infrastructure, servers, workstations and software licensing…

5.) Wow, back to the gimmicks. I can start a club, scribble up some papers with a mission statement and ‘code of ethics’ but that means NOTHING. Having a cool sticker to slap on my bumper with an earnest and ethical slogan to prove just how Ethical and Honest i am is idiotic. Ethics are in your actions and your daily dealings with people not in some stupid ‘contract with your club’.

6.) But GIS companies don’t have to be ‘experts’ or submit examples of previous projects to prove how competent they are at their job? Any employer worth the time to bid for will want proof of competency. Wouldn’t it make sense that if a GIS firm developed a deliverable that has been the basis for over 5 years worth of products sold to the public through the county that they could argue expertise and familiarity?

7.) Wow, weight of “protecting the welfare of the public”, propaganda and lies. How’s Bob Colvin’s Engineering firm doing with all that morality and weight? Everyone, private citizen to mega corporation, have the moral obligation to ‘do no harm’ but many are simply incapable of understanding what morals are or caring any further than getting the job. Licensure is not accepting another level of judgement from on high, it’s a piece of paper that says ‘I paid more to practice my profession because that’s the way we’ve always done it’.

If a GIS firm is excluded from being included in the definition of a firm simply because they don’t have a certified license proving their honor and ethical purity in how they do their job then how does anything ever get done?

You gotta ask yourself, who was behind the structure of the original draft of this Act? Why was it even required in the first place? Was it designed to pigeon hole the professional qualifications so a specific group could benefit?

In any case, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you Watchdogs, i look forward to another interesting year of light in dark places.

Shady No-Bid 5-Year GIS Contract http://t.co/C1djHh2D0W http://t.co/Jrt2Y7c1LV

So the issue is that this professional ‘members only’ organization doesn’t feel that a Geographic Information System consulting company, that isn’t a paying member, is equivalent to an Engineering/Surveying firm?

(50 ILCS 510/3) (from Ch. 85, par. 6403) Sec. 3. Definitions.
(Source: P.A. 91-91, eff. 1-1-00.)

From the above i take it that the Act “definitions” were last reviewed and amended prior to January 2000. GIS wasn’t really mainstream technology till the last decade. If the Act were to be reviewed, depending on clout of the IPLSA lobbyists, i can see a valid case that GIS Consulting would be included in the ‘Firm’ list. The wording is already there based on the attached excerpt above…

As new technology is developed laws must be reviewed to be sure it’s fair in BOTH directions. The fact that a NFP organization is using this law to beat down a county government’s decision to utilize new technology is shameful.

Is it getting the job done? Is it more efficient? Is it saving them money?

Get the legal crap updated and let’s revisit the whole issue.