City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young's office violated city policy by using the services of a computer contractor hired by the Department of Transportation without negotiating a separate contract, according to a report this week by the city's inspector general.
According to inspector general David N. McClintock, Young's chief of staff asked transportation officials if the computer contractor could work on the council's website shortly after Young took office in February.
The chief of staff, William Driscoll, worked for the transportation department prior to joining Young's staff.
The contractor, James D'Amico, was paid about $3,700 from the president's office budget to update the council's site, in addition to $66,000 he received from the transportation department.
Under a contract approved by the city's spending board, D'Amico could be paid as much as $75,000 for computer services for the transportation department, but he was not authorized to work for the council president.
Driscoll spoke with transportation officials about using D'Amico's services but did not clear the deal with the law department, according to the report.
McClintock said he became aware of the arrangement while investigating another transportation computer contract worker. That contractor overbilled the department and was found to have pornographic images on the city computer he used, according to a separate report.
There are no penalties or sanctions triggered by the findings about the president's office. The report advises Young's office and the transportation department to review contract employee regulations and recommends that Young's staffers draw up independent contracts for all outside work.
D'Amico stopped working for the president's office in August, and staffers have reviewed the proper procedure for hiring contractors, said Lester Davis, a spokesman for Young.
"Anytime in the future that this office is considering using a contractor, it will be thoroughly vetted by the law department," Davis said.
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