It’s ok. It’s not out of my pocket. Let the taxpayers suck it up…
$60 million. $60 million!
The Idaho state official in charge of a voided $60 million statewide school broadband contract says he won’t try to recover the money paid out under the illegal deal despite direction from Idaho’s highest court.
Idaho Department of Administration Director Robert Geddes informed Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden of his decision in a letter dated last week. Now it falls to Wasden to decide – should he enforce a state law requiring officials to seek the return of money paid on illegal contracts, and if so, how?
The Idaho Supreme Court agreed in March that the statewide contract for broadband in public schools was void. The justices said the law required the state to try to recover the millions of dollars already paid out under the voided contract, but they stopped short of officially ordering state officials to seek repayment.
Instead, the high court said that if the appropriate legal officer failed to fulfill his legal duty of seeking repayment, the state’s chief legal officer could step forward to do the job.
At the time, Wasden said the direction from the high court was clear. He said his office would take action if Geddes and the Department of Administration declined to do so.