San Antonio City Council has approved a contract for one of the most lucrative jobs the city contracts out--the operation of the lot on the southwest side where impounded and towed away vehicles are stored.
But, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports the awarding of the contract was not without controversy.
Patrick Christiansen, who is the lawyer for one of the firms that filed to win the contract, says the process was 'fishy' because the winning firm was allowed to bid twice, once as the prime contractor, and once as a sub contractor, on the same contract.
"Its possible for someone to game the system and submit two, three, four, five proposals," he said.
But northeast side Councilman Clayton Perry, who is a retired civil engineer with the Air Force, and has been involved in government contracting his entire life, says what Alanis, Inc, did was not only not 'fishy,' it is in fact the way the process works.
"As far as industry practice, this happens every day," Perry said. "It's called 'teaming,' setting up as both a prime and a sub contractor.
City officials said the firm which currently operates the impound lot was selected as one of the finalists due to some problems with the operation.
The contract splits the money collected from the owners of impounded vehicles between the firm and the city, and is a financial gain to San Antonio taxpayers.
And Deputy City Manager Eric Walsh said Alanis will include new features that will make retrieving your towed car a little less annoying.
"If you have the unfortunate situation where your vehicle has been impounded you don't have to stand in line and wait for the clerk," he said. "You can go to a kiosk, find your vehicle, and you can pay for it."
Alanis, which is a local firm, will not be responsible for towing vehicles, just managing the lot where they are kept until either the owner shows up to claim them, or they are sold. The new contract takes effect October 1.