Airport Privatization Consultants Delayed by Unsigned Contract
Date Posted: July 19, 2018
Posted In: News,
From St. Louis Public Radio: When the Board of Estimate and Apportionment approved a contract with advisors to explore the privatization of St. Louis Lambert International Airport last month, it appeared the process was ready to take off after months of delays.
The city’s working group held its first meeting.
The first meeting of all the consultants and advisors on the project was scheduled.
But, there was a problem. The contract between the city and the lead consultants had not been signed.
As it turned out, Comptroller Darlene Green was holding off on signing the contract until she could ask for an amendment to clarify who will pay for the advisory team. Any change needs the approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment — which includes the comptroller, the mayor and the president of the Board of Aldermen.
At Wednesday’s meeting (July 18), Green’s amendment was approved without discussion. She said the change clarified that the city is not paying the consultants’ fees throughout the exploratory process.
“This contract enables us to hire, and then the consultant will be making the payments, not the city,” Green told reporters after the meeting adjourned. “This is just a clarification of that point, and nothing more.”