Most state agencies must solicit bids to ensure the best value for taxpayers. But when state lawmakers formed the port authority in 2018, they carved out an exception to the normal procurement process.
The Office of the State Auditor issued a brief report Thursday criticizing the port authority for a lack of transparency and accountability with its business deals. The inquiry started after the auditor received a complaint through a hotline about a $2 million agreement, which port authority officials confirmed was afound the agency overly relied on its exemption. It also found the port authority’s administration failed to adequately discuss business deals with its board.
“Because of the prominence of the Utah Inland Port Authority,” State Auditor John Dougall said in a news release, “it should strive for the best and strongest procurement policies possible.” QuayChain is an obscure California-based company that appears to have few qualifications other than business ties to the port’s former executive director, Jack Hedge.to install about 250 cameras across Salt Lake City’s northwest quadrant for a project called the “Intelligent Crossroads Network.” Those cameras have built-in artificial intelligence that can be trained to track truck identifiers, like business logos and hazardous material markings.
The port authority paid QuayChain $2 million to set up and test its camera network, but the company stood to make millions more by selling subscriptions to its publicly funded data service.Asked earlier this year why QuayChain deserved a no-bid contract, Hedge told The Tribune the vendor provided a “unique service offering” that “nobody” else in the market was capable of providing.
A computing professor asked to review the contract, however, disagreed. He said his own students could build the AI network.
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