Maine pays extra 1.2 million to MaineCare rides broker; DHHS can't say why (Portland Press Herald)

[eShirl]

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_pays_extra__1_2_million_to_criticized_broker_of_rides_for_poor_.html

Department of Health and Human Services officials could not say Tuesday why Connecticut-based Coordinated Transportation Solutions was paid $3.3 million in February while in all previous months it was paid about $2.1 million, according to state documents.

A state lawmaker said he has been asking DHHS officials the same question for weeks.

Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, said he noticed the discrepancy in late February and has been seeking an explanation ever since, without success.

“It’s very concerning for me to see them being paid more,” he said. “If anything, the state should be withholding money from them.”

Maybe they should check their Blackberry text message archives for the answer... oh wait, they can't:

http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/Our_View__Maine_government_should_conduct_its_business_in_public_.html

Unlike emails, the texts are not saved on state servers. They don’t appear to be stored anywhere, really, so discussions held over text message are essentially secret, and out of the reach of Freedom of Access requests.

After the system became public last week, a LePage spokeswoman said it is rarely used, and that the administration does not condone its misuse.

The public, however, has no way of knowing, and very recent history shows government is often keen on keeping public information private.

Last week, a former state employee said her supervisors told her to use text messaging to avoid creating a public record, a charge the supervisors denied.

Do you smell that? Smells like something's rotten in the State of Maine.