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Fine presses request for probe Mayor says bidding issue covered by city ordinance By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- An Ashland city councilman is calling for an independent investigation of the city administrator, who is accused of signing marketing and advertising contracts without putting them through a competitive bidding process. "A credible allegation has been made ... about the improper spending of public money and by the same token the city administrator has an explanation that is plausible on its face," Councilman David Fine said. "The issue will not be resolved unless an impartial, competent individual investigates the very complex set of facts, and the law, and finds out what has occurred." Mayor Cathy Shaw said, though, the contracts did go through competitive bidding even though "the fact remains we don't have to put these out to bid." The issue began in late September when Ashland resident Russ Silbiger filed a complaint with the city about advertising and marketing contracts given to the Ashland-based "the communications inc." The three contracts, which totaled more than $100,000, were given to the company without being put through a competitive bidding process, he said. When the complaint first was filed, Fine said that it was up to the mayor, as city administrator Mike Freeman's boss, to investigate the complaint. Shaw said Tuesday night the contracts were properly put out to bid, even though -- under city ordinances -- advertising is exempt from competitive bidding requirements. Fine said further investigation is required if he and the public are to be assured the contracts were within the law. Fine expects his request to be discussed at the next Ashland City Council meeting on Oct. 19. Freeman declined comment Tuesday, saying he hadn't yet spoken to Fine. Shaw asked: "How many tax dollars are we going to spend to look into this? If David feels there's ambiguity in the city ordinances, we don't need to spend taxpayer dollars to fix that, the council can just fix the ordinance." Silbiger said he supports Fine's request. "I think it's a great idea," Silbiger said. "I think it's absolutely necessary in this situation. In my opinion, there's been a continual violation of city and state laws and even after the city was made aware of the violations they continued to ignore the rules." Fine said the city should either hire an attorney who specializes in municipal law, or allow a knowledgeable, unbiased Ashland-citizen volunteer to investigate the issue. He said even if Freeman is found in the wrong, it will not mean dire consequences for his employment. Fine noted that Freeman recently received very high ratings from the council for his performance as administrator. "Any honest mistake must be judged in overall context of Mike's job as a city administrator," Fine said. "If we went on the open market, we would have slim to no chance to find someone who would have better qualifications and be a better fit for the community." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA