Columnist: My mom did more legal legwork than Austin with F1 ...

After watching the sloppy, rushed actions of the Austin City Council last week in approving, in a 5-2 vote, the very complicated Formula One deal, I can honestly say that I believe my mother did more due diligence in shopping for a house than some city officials did in negotiating the Formula One deal.

The biggest question I have: Why did City Manager Marc Ott and City Attorney Karen Kennard ignore the pleas of Council Members Sheryl Cole and Laura Morrison to hire outside legal help when it became clear they were in over their heads?

I?m not impugning the city?s legal department. As far as I know, it does a good job overall protecting the city?s interests. But there are times when good is not good enough, times when the job requires legal experts. Clearly, this was one of those times.

One glaring example of city legal department?s lack of diligence was in missing a key clause in the contract with the Circuit Events Local Organizing Committee, which put the city at a significant disadvantage in protecting its interests. The Circuit Events committee acts as the city?s designee in Formula One events.

One contract that city lawyers handed City Council members for approval stated: The Circuit Events committee?s ?obligations and responsibilities under this section ? may be modified or amended with notice to the Comptroller and the City.?

Now I?m not a lawyer, but if that means what it says ? that the committee can act unilaterally to make changes to its obligations simply by saying so ? then that is a pretty big deal, and it?s one that is bad for Austin.

It was a regular citizen who brought it to the attention of the City Council and city attorneys.

Source: http://www.formula1blog.com/2011/07/06/columnist-my-mom-did-more-legal-legwork-than-austin-with-f1/

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