Beaumont City Council approves $98K contract for Austin-based bond election consultant
BEAUMONT, Texas — After a lengthy debate, Beaumont City Council voted 4-3 to approve a $98,000 contract with an Austin-based firm toeducate voters ahead of the city’s November bond election.
The resolution allows the city manager to enter into an agreement with Gap Strategies for bond election services. The plan includes covering travel and lodging expenses for the consultants to come from Austin to Beaumont.
Councilmembers Joey Hilliard and Mike Williams joined Councilman Cory Crenshaw in voting against the measure. Crenshaw voiced his concerns publicly on Facebook, saying he believes the city should have considered local firms for the work.
“The measure passed 4-3 (only Councilmen Hilliard and Williams voted with me against it) to spend $100,000 of taxpayer money on an Austin area consultant to ‘educate’ voters on the bond proposal in November,” Crenshaw wrote on Facebook. “Part of the proposal is paying for travel and lodging for the consultants to travel to Beaumont from Austin. I asked why local businesses couldn’t bid and provide these services. Didn’t get an answer so you can guess why.”
https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/politics/elections/beaumont-city-council-approves-98k-contract/502-f1a557aa-eae1-4cf1-8234-d91196188674