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DC Library Official Resigns, Rehired as a Consultant

Transparency

One of the D.C. Public Library’s top officials reportedly resigned from the system only to be rehired as a consultant on a no-bid contract.

Eric Coard, formerly the library system’s chief business officer, quit last summer but recently won a no-bid contract that will pay him roughly the same amount of money to perform a similar job—though he won’t be subject to stringent regulations that dictate government employees’ behavior.

The Washington Times reports:

The outsourcing arrangement means that Eric Coard, who as a contractor remains listed as the library system’s chief business officer, is not subject to the same ethics and personnel rules as other city employees even as he continues to help oversee the agency’s annual budget and construction of libraries across the city.

"From a cost perspective, this move might result in savings for D.C. residents, but from a government operations perspective, it’s troubling," said Scott Amey, general counsel for the nonpartisan D.C.-based watchdog group Project On Government Oversight.

"Contracting out senior-level management and policy functions isn’t in the best interest of the city and the public, and may circumvent city hiring policies and decrease morale," he said. "The public deserves a government that operates beyond reproach, but that can be difficult when you merge public and private interests."

Published under: Transparency