Special committee investigates Swadley’s deal with state parks
The committee met for the first time in a half-decade
The committee met for the first time in a half-decade
The committee met for the first time in a half-decade
A special Oklahoma House of Representatives committee met Thursday to examine whether there was corruption and, if so, how high it went in the state’s deal with Swadley’s.
The special investigative committee held its first hearing today.
A state official subpoenaed to testify said if the state Tourism Department had done what it was supposed to do, taxpayers would have saved millions.
“If they would’ve just specifically had controls in place, they would have saved Oklahoma taxpayers $12.4 million,” said Mike Jackson, director of the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency, which examined the contract in one of its reports.
His team found that Swadley’s contract was unique. He called it very favorable to the restaurant operator.
>> See also: Oklahoma lawmakers criticize deal between tourism department, Swadley’s
Some initial expenses for the restaurants were covered by the state since the state agreed to eat some of the restaurant’s losses. Jackson said many of those expenses appeared to have been exaggerated.
“There was a cheese melter that was expensed for around $11,600. The highest cheese melter that we could find from the same manufacturer was around $5,500,” Jackson said.
Committee Chair Rep. Ryan Martinez said, “I didn’t see any indication that anybody was holding any vendors accountable to make sure work was done in time, properly, and at a fair rate.”
Next to testify was the director of the state’s central financial agency.
It’s unclear how long the committee will meet.