Company's employees checked out state cars
Source: By BOB LOWRY, Huntsville Times (AL), Monday, August 20, 2007
Workers who routinely check out cars from the state motor pool for the weekend, have state e-mail accounts and take home state-owned laptop computers may appear to be public employees. But that wasn't the case with 10 employees of a company who worked under a contract with the Alabama Department of Human Resources and Auburn University at Montgomery.
…… AIM's contract with DHR for information technology services was scheduled to run from Sept. 25, 2006, through April 30, 2007, but it was cut short after Ken Wallis, Riley's legal adviser, received complaints.
……. Among the problems cited, he said, was improper use of state vehicles by AIMS' employees. Other problems were AIMS employees being paid late, being paid with cash and their payroll checks bouncing.
Related editorial from the Huntsville Times: Public vs. private
…….. But what also needs to come from this is a re-examination of the pluses and minuses of using private companies for state work. Sometimes, in terms of accountability and good government, private may not always be best.