BUYING
A TAXPAYER FUNDED ROOF. WHAT YOU MUST
KNOW.
A
Private owner may do anything they like (following code, and safety
requirements). It’s their money, and can
spend it without question, or oversight.
Publicly
funded projects are just the opposite. The
taxpayers are the “Owner”, and all aspects of the project are subject to scrutiny. Administrators do not possess either the
credential, or experience, to make such complicated decisions.
NO
Administrator has the right to “exclude’ fair competition in favor of a “single
“Preferred Vendor”. That is called “Collusion’,
and in some cases “Bid Rigging”. An
Administrator’s job is to provide “Serviceability, and Value” to the public,
and not play favorites.
You
might find yourself in a position to “explain” your actions to those you serve,
and I suggest you be excessively prepared, or be made a spectacle. “Ignorance’ isn’t going to cut it in court, I
promise.
What
can a Public Administrator do to achieve “Serviceability, and Value”, without
exposing your district to suit? I see
this quite a bit, and one roofing manufacturer was recently fined
$65,000,000.00 for abusing GSA contracts.
I
happen to think they deserve it for strangling Administrators with a “Predatory
Sales Model”. If you ever hear the
phrase “We handle it all”, RUN. Anyone
with knowledge can sue your district in a ‘Qui Tam” (Lincoln Law) suit, and
probably win. So, at that point, you’ve
been ridiculed in court, lost your job, and your school district is on the hook
for huge sums of money.
Please
do not take my word for this, and contact your School District Attorney. They will confirm what I’ve said as true,
and will advise the same, I’m sure.
So
Ron, how do we navigate this maze, and buy a roof without the problems you’ve
described?
1.)
NEVER
buy a roof through a “Purchasing Cooperative”.
The Purchasing Cooperative is nothing but a commissioned salesman, makes
money on commission, and therefore have no incentive to compete. Quite the opposite is true. STAY AWAY from this obvious scam. You CANNOT buy roofing material in “Bulk” for
less money than I can. Then, there’s
the issue of storage, and triple handling.
2.)
Manufacturers
offered by Purchasing Cooperatives (normally Tremco, or Garland) will typically
charge 40-60% MORE, and they don’t even make many products they sell. They have it made by someone else, and then “Private
Label” it. The only difference is that
it’s marked up 300-400%.
3.)
Contact
Roof Consultant’s Institute, and ask their ethics board how to move forward
from there. RCI is highly respected, and
I know many of them personallty.
Factually, I was trained by the first, and only two time President of
RCI, the late Mr. Bob Lyons.
https://wikiroof.blogspot.com/search?q=RCI
RCI, Inc.
1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 204
Raleigh, NC 27607-515
800-828-1902
http://www.rci-online.org/
https://wikiroof.blogspot.com/search?q=RCI
RCI, Inc.
1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 204
Raleigh, NC 27607-515
800-828-1902
http://www.rci-online.org/
4.)
They
will help you establish a “Standard” that best suits your needs, and will serve
as an “apples to apples” type comparison.
This is normally included with the names of 4 manufacturers who will
competitively bid the project.
These are names you know, like GAF
(world’s largest roofing material manufacturer). Firestone (backed by billions in Bridgestone
assets)., Johns Manville (A Berkshire Hathaway Company), and Carlisle Syntec,
leaders in fairness, and quality roof systems.
5.)
RCI
will share the names of several respected roofing consultants in your area to
draw up bid documents, roof plan, details, warranty term, etc.
NEVER allow one person to read sealed
bids in privacy. The best method is in
an auditorium, where bids are opened, and read aloud to the public. Any protests can be done with everyone present.
Playing with taxpayer money
can ruin your life if not careful. The
Garland, and Tremco, Sales Representatives get a 25% “Commission” for getting
you to sign up (unlike GAF, Firestone, Johns Manville, and Carlisle).
NOTE: Retired 2003, do not solicit nor accept compensation, or personal
advancement of any kind.
Type ‘School Roofing Scam”
into your browser, and then do the same on YouTube. The only two manufacturers listed are
Garland, and Tremco. What does that tell
you Mr. Administrator, who is preparing to replace a $2,000,000.00 roof?
Roll the dice if you must,
but will strongly suggest not gambling with your future, and freedom. NO amount of money is worth that.
“The “Sole Source” argument
is a foolish one, and a “come on” to certain heartbreak. I’ve seen enough of it to last 4 lifetimes,
and still, feel sorry for them each time.
Many of them are actually featured on this blogsite.
Friends, I do not share
opinions, but hard data. If you need
assistance, or have a question, feel free to write to my central address:
I help all people who ask
for help. It is my privilege to serve
you. I DO NOT ACCEPT MONEY for any
reason, so you can compare that to the Salesman’s 25% “Commission”, and make a
literate, logical, informed, decision based upon public record..
Our schools are wasting
literally billions of dollars listening to slick sales representatives, holding
slick paperwork. Not one bit of that
matters if there is no true “Competition” among manufacturers.
The
manufacturers compete, and each manufacturer notifies their applicators to bid
the final installed roof.
Manufacturers do not submit “Final”
bids, their applicators do.
My best advice: Stay away from Tremco, Garland, and Simon. 99% of your problems lie with them. And it gets worse when I start comparing
manufacturer warranties. Much
worse.
I am very thankful you care
one bit about what I have to say, and very appreciative of the time you spend
with me here.
Reject negativity in all
forms and always remember to keep looking “UP”.
Respect.
Robert R. “Ron” Solomon
Public Procurement Analyst
Florida State Certification
CCC 1325620
Tampa, Florida 33647
