Philly inspector general initiates safeguards against unscrupulous contractors

Philadelphia’s inspector general is sending a strong warning to city contractors. 

It all started when Inspector General Amy Kurland figured out a city contractor forged bond documents. The company did not take out a bond that would pay the city back if the contract was not completed.

Kurland turned the matter over to the District Attorney Seth Williams for criminal prosecution. Now she’s adding new checks and balances to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“We made a number of recommendations, worked with the various city departments, and most of our recommendations have either been implemented or are in the process of being implemented,” she said.

The recommendations include better screening of contractors and their financial stability, Kurland said.

“The first step is the questionnaires that the contractors have to submit, and we’ve recommended that the city independently review the answers on there,” she said. “That’s the part that has to do with credit history, criminal convictions and that sort of thing.”

The contractor caught forging documents could face time in jail and as well as being banned from future city contracts.