Judge Stuard's ruling gives guidance on public contracts

Earlier this year when the city of Girard refused to award a contract to M & amp;M Excavating Co., Mayor James A. Melfi was uncharacteristically cautious in explaining why.
Melfi would only say publicly that the board of control, made up of the mayor and safety and services directors, followed the recommendation of the city's engineering consultant, Burgess & amp; Niple.
There was a reason for the mayor's reluctance to speak his mind: the president of M & amp;M Excavating had threatened to sue Girard on the grounds that his company was the low bidder for the sanitary sewer project.
What Melfi would not discuss, but was generally known, is that James Matash is a convicted felon. He was sentenced to a year in prison in 2001 for unlawfully acquiring a government contract in Warren. He reportedly paid $5,000 to James Lapmardo, a Warren building official at the time, to get a demolition contract. Lapmardo, who left his job in 2002, was sentenced in July in federal court on a charge of racketeering.
Girard's mayor was right in being careful in expressing his opinion of Matash. He knew his words could be used in the court proceedings.
Service Director Rex Funge, on the other hand, had no reservations in publicly stating that he was opposed to M & amp;M Excavating getting the contract because Matash is a felon.
Injunction sought
As Melfi had anticipated, the contractor sought an injunction to stop the city from awarding the contract for the sanitary sewer work to the highest bidder, A.P. O'Horo Co. of Liberty.
Enter Judge John M. Stuard of the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Last week, in denying Matash's motion for an injunction, Judge Stuard gave voice to Melfi's concerns about the contractor's criminal record.
The judge wrote in his ruling that a felony record can be used by the city in making a decision on the awarding of a contract. He referred to the state's and city's competitive bidding laws that require contracts to be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The standard has commonly been referred to as "lowest and best," but Stuard's language provides the kind of guidance government officials need.
With the judge's ruling in hand, Mayor Melfi let his feelings about Matash be known:
"The good guys win again," he said.
But it's more than a victory for the good guys. By upholding the city's right not to award a contract to a convicted felon, the judge has confirmed our long-held belief that a public contract is not a right, but a privilege.
And when you bribe a public official, you give up any claims to that privilege.
There can be no exceptions -- especially in the Mahoning Valley where the public sector is viewed with suspicion by the citizenry because of the many government employees, including officeholders, who have been implicated in bribery schemes.