City consultant on taxi GPS hired by GPS firm: Not illegal, but move seen as 'improper

The Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, PA) | May 22, 2006 Byline: Dave Davies May 22--A Philadelphia Parking Authority consultant who helped choose a company to install a $3.5 million GPS system in taxis has now taken a job with the company. David Boonin, who was paid $584,000 over the past three years as a consultant to the authority, is now working for Taxitronic, the Long Island City, N.Y., firm that won the bid to install GPS units in city taxis. Boonin will help Taxitronic implement the Philadelphia contract, which calls for the installation of a global positioning system in the city's 1,600 cabs to assist in dispatching, reduce turf battles, guard against fare-padding and speed help in emergencies. If Boonin were a state or city employee, the arrangement might violate both the state ethics act and the city ethics code. The state code bars former officials for one year from representing anyone who did business with the agency they worked for. The city code bars a former city employee for two years from having a financial interest in a contract he exercised some discretion over. Because Boonin is a consultant and not an employee, neither rule applies to him. "There's no violation of law here, and no violation of principle," Boonin said in an interview. "This [question] really ticks me off." Both Boonin and Parking Authority spokeswoman Linda Miller said Boonin's contract with the authority expired earlier this year, about the time the deal with Taxitronic was finalized. Boonin has given the authority advice in several areas of taxi and limo regulation. The state Legislature gave the Parking Authority that responsibility in late 2002. Boonin said Taxitronic asked if he would be available to work for them on implementing the system, and he proceeded only after conferring with the authority and getting an opinion from its counsel approving the arrangement. Committee of Seventy president Zack Stalberg said Boonin's move is troubling. "It certainly seems improper to me that he's able to take advantage of a [consultant's] loophole," Stalberg said. "Most people receiving public money wouldn't be able to do what he did." The authority's move to install the GPS system has been controversial with drivers. Ron Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance, said he suspects Boonin was pushing

Taxitronic within the authority with a lucrative gig in mind. "The whole thing is unethical," Blount said. "I think Taxitronic is rewarding him for a job well done." But Joe Egan, who was director of the Parking Authority when the GPS system was bid, bristled at that charge. "This was a competitive bid, and the process was straight as an arrow," Egan said. About Boonin's role, Egan said, "He played a key role in the selection, but with a bunch of other people. And he didn't say, 'Here's the one you should take.' " Egan said that whether it was proper for Boonin to work for Taxitronic after the contract was signed is "a legitimate question, and he has to respond to that." Boonin is glad to. "Anybody who was involved in the contract negotiations who was objective and didn't have an axe to grind would freely state that I was a pain in Taxitronic's side," Boonin said. "I represented the Parking Authority and the public interest vigorously throughout this process." Eight companies submitted GPS proposals to the authority in 2005. Taxitronic was selected from among three finalists, but negotiations over a final contract dragged on for weeks. Boonin was a key member of the Parking Authority team that worked out the details with Taxitronic. Boonin said that he probably knows of the details of Taxitronic's contract with the authority better than anyone, and he'll be working to ensure the system is properly implemented. "Is it my responsibility to look out for Taxitronic's interest first and foremost? Of course it is, they're paying my freight," Boonin said. "But that's not a conflict. There's no quid pro quo. There's nothing but honorable business dealings here." City Controller Alan Butkovitz said Boonin's arrangement may raise some troubling issues, but he isn't prepared to condemn him. "A person is entitled to act based on what the rules are at the time," Butkovitz said, "but prospectively, it points out that it might be a good idea to adopt the same time separations that are routinely applied to legislators, members of Congress, and people who leave executive positions."