State Audit Says Railroad Contracts at Vermont Agency of Transportation Could Be Managed BetterAgency did not competitively bid $7.2 million in construction work; did not charge interest on late lease payments; and did not collect salvage proceeds properly, among audit findingsMONTPELIER (December 5, 2008) – The Office of Vermont State Auditor Tom Salmon, CPA, reported today that oversight of railroad construction contracts in the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is inadequate and is costing the State money.”One conclusion of the audit is that the Rail Division is not ensuring that the required competitive bidding in these contracts is taking place,” said Deputy State Auditor George Thabault. “Contracts are being ‘sole-sourced’ and this denies other companies the opportunity to compete for State contracts, and may be keeping the State from getting the best price for goods and services.”The rail audit was conducted following a request made by VTrans that the State Auditor investigate the deficiencies of its rail section and suggest improvements.”We recognized that we had some issues within our Rail Division that needed correcting, and requested the Auditor’s assistance,” said VTrans Secretary David Dill. “On our own, we were unable to clearly identify our weaknesses in a way that both we and the railroads could understand. Our goal is to use the findings of this report as a catalyst to forge a new and better relationship with the companies that run our rail systems.”The audit report noted four key findings:1. VTrans and its railroad subcontractors did not follow procurement regulations designed to foster open, competitive bidding, resulting in $7.2 million of recent contracts with Vermont Railway and one of its affiliates not being competitively bid. The largest no-bid contract – for $4,677,727 – was also issued without the required approval of the Secretary of the Agency of Administration.2. Oversight and administration of rail contracts need improvement. For example, auditors found that $82,401 from rail project salvage proceeds was being held by Vermont Railway to offset against future invoices rather than being returned to the State as required by contract. (The Agency has since discontinued the practice of allowing the netting of salvage credits and has adopted new procedures to promptly receive and account for salvage payments.)3. Lease revenues and agreed-to performance requirements of leaseholders are not being verified, and VTrans has forgone $37,000 in interest stemming from late payments of monthly leases for State-owned track.4. The Agency did not adequately follow up on past audits which reported $436,000 of questioned costs related to contracts with Vermont Railway.For the project, auditors selected four contracts totaling $7.2 million dollars, approximately 44 percent of the total active rail construction and railway upgrade contracts during fiscal years 2007 and 2008. All contracts were between VTrans and Vermont Railway and Green Mountain Railroad, two companies of the Vermont Rail System (VRS), a privately held, affiliated group of short-line rail transportation companies that operates in Vermont.Auditors recommended that AOT strengthen and clarify the language within its rail agreements, improve the oversight of contracts, enforce penalties for violations of the terms and conditions of its contracts and lease agreements, and provide for better fiscal management of its contractors and service providers.In its response to the report, the Agency of Transportation generally agreed with the report’s recommendations and pledged to provide the State Auditor with quarterly status reports on corrective actions.”VTrans already has put in place new business practices that correct some of the Auditor’s concerns, and we certainly will make additional changes to rectify the remaining deficiencies,” Dill said. “VTrans recently hired a new Rail Program Manager, and one of his top priorities is to improve our rail business operations.”Background:The oversight of the railway network in Vermont is the responsibility of the Vermont Agency of Transportation Rail Program. Vermont’s rail system consists of approximately 748 miles of track or rail right-of-way. The State owns approximately 427 miles, of which 305 miles are currently active. Ten railroad companies operate or have the rights to operate on the rail lines in Vermont.For Fiscal Year 2009, the AOT total budget is $412.2 million. The Rail Section is allocated $16.8 million of this budget. The Rail Section currently has eight staff positions of a total of approximately 1,050 positions in the Agency. The complete audit report is available at www.auditor.vermont.gov(link is external). Click on “Audits & Reports” and then “Special Audits” to access the new audit report.
Emery was sacked amid a dismal campaign (Picture: Getty)‘There’s always a number of names.‘We’re at the beginning of something here. My relationship with the people here and the players is very strong. We think we are starting something exciting.‘Arsenal is a fantastic club. One of the greats in this country. If the people at Arsenal have moved Unai on, I’m sure they have an idea of who they want to bring in.‘There’s disappointment whenever a coach loses his job. Unai has proved himself over a number of years. I have sympathy for him.’Who should be Unai Emery’s permanent replacement at Arsenal?Freddie Ljungberg0%Mauricio Pochettino0%Mikel Arteta0%Carlo Ancelotti0%Nuno Espirito Santo0%Share your resultsShare your resultsTweet your resultsMORE: Jose Mourinho relishing chance to play Arsenal after Freddie Ljungberg’s appointmentMORE: Freddie Ljungberg immediately promotes Arsenal youngster to first team squad after replacing sacked Unai Emery Coral BarrySaturday 30 Nov 2019 8:12 amShare this article via facebookShare this article via twitterShare this article via messengerShare this with Share this article via emailShare this article via flipboardCopy link1.5kShares Rodgers is a target of Arsenal’s (Picture: Getty)Leicester City will demand £14million from Arsenal if they want to poach Brendan Rodgers, according to reports.Arsenal are keen on Rodgers as their next head coach because he is an English speaking manager and has a strong media profile.Rodgers has rebuilt his reputation since leaving Liverpool and is enjoying a superb season so far with Leicester, with the Foxes second in the Premier League table.Arsenal may be targeting Rodgers following Unai Emery’s dismissal, but the Telegraph claim it will take a substantial compensation package to prize him away from the Foxes.ADVERTISEMENT Emery defends Arsenal team’s performance after Frankfurt lossTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Play VideoLoaded: 0%0:00Progress: 0%PlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration Time 6:03FullscreenEmery defends Arsenal team’s performance after Frankfurt losshttps://metro.co.uk/video/emery-defends-arsenal-teams-performance-frankfurt-loss-2059112/This is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.Rodgers signed a three-and-half year deal when he joined Leicester less than a year ago and the Foxes forked out a significant fee to poach him from Celtic mid-way through the 2018/19 season.AdvertisementAdvertisementLeicester included an exit clause in Rodgers’ contract, which stands at £14m and they would demand the full figure from Arsenal if they made an approach for their manager.More: FootballRio Ferdinand urges Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to drop Manchester United starChelsea defender Fikayo Tomori reveals why he made U-turn over transfer deadline day moveMikel Arteta rates Thomas Partey’s chances of making his Arsenal debut vs Man CityRodgers did not rule out a switch to Arsenal when asked about the newly vacant manager’s position on Friday, but the Northern Irishman reiterated he was committed to Leicester.‘It’s natural that there are links,’ said Rodgers.‘If you are doing okay people want to take you away from something you enjoy. If you’re not, it doesn’t matter. Advertisement Advertisement Comment Leicester City to demand £14million from Arsenal for Brendan Rodgers
WRBI Area Softball Sectional Scores. Friday (5-30)Sectional 29 @ South Dearborn.Championship-South Dearborn 3 Rushville 1Sectional 14 @ Columbus North.Championship-Bloomington South 4 Columbus North 0Courtesy of The IHSAA.
Nasarawa Amazons who lost woefully in their first outing in the ongoing Zenith Bank Women basketball league going on at the Abuja National Stadium yesterday recorded the first victory with nail biting 55-51 victory over AHIP Queens from Kaduna.The AHIP girls were almost coasting home to win victory when the Amazons turned the game around and won the game with only two minutes left of play. Earlier in the day, Zamfara Babes who also lost their first game also tasted victory with a 47- 16 victory over Coal City girls from Enugu before the rampaging Inspector General of Police Queens demolished weeping team of the competition Oluyole Babes with a awesome 61-13 points victory.The league continues today with Plateau Rocks taking on Taraba Hurricanes, Delta Force playing Zamfara Babes, Ekiti Angels facing Oluyole Babes, AHIP Queens confronting power house and defending champion, First Bank, Sunshine Angels daring youthful Dolphins side and Benue Princess testing the strength of Nigeria Customs Babes.Speaking on today’s clash, First Bank Coach, Peter Favour Ahmedu said he was already looking beyond the first phase and focusing on the next phase.“I have seen the strength and weaknesses of all the teams in the competition and are now looking forward to the second phase,” he said.We will fine tune our strategy for the second phase and will not use the same tactics we used in the first phase,” he added.Ahmedu said he did not see any team in the first phase posing any threat to their ambition of retaining the title this year.The organiser, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has promised to put up a grand closing ceremony for the first phase which ends next Easter Monday.Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram
Close Forgot password? Please put in your email: Send me my password! Close message Login This blog post All blog posts Subscribe to this blog post’s comments through… RSS Feed Subscribe via email Subscribe Subscribe to this blog’s comments through… RSS Feed Subscribe via email Subscribe Follow the discussion Comments Logging you in… Close Login to IntenseDebate Or create an account Username or Email: Password: Forgot login? Cancel Login Close WordPress.com Username or Email: Password: Lost your password? Cancel Login Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout Logged in as Admin Options Disable comments for this page Save Settings You are about to flag this comment as being inappropriate. Please explain why you are flagging this comment in the text box below and submit your report. The blog admin will be notified. Thank you for your input. There are no comments posted yet. Be the first one! Post a new comment Enter text right here! Comment as a Guest, or login: Login to IntenseDebate Login to WordPress.com Login to Twitter Go back Tweet this comment Connected as (Logout) Email (optional) Not displayed publicly. Name Email Website (optional) Displayed next to your comments. Not displayed publicly. If you have a website, link to it here. Posting anonymously. Tweet this comment Submit Comment Subscribe to None Replies All new comments Comments by IntenseDebate Enter text right here! Reply as a Guest, or login: Login to IntenseDebate Login to WordPress.com Login to Twitter Go back Tweet this comment Connected as (Logout) Email (optional) Not displayed publicly. Name Email Website (optional) Displayed next to your comments. Not displayed publicly. If you have a website, link to it here. Posting anonymously. Tweet this comment Cancel Submit Comment Subscribe to None Replies All new comments Sumner Newscow report — The proposed 2016 City of Wellington budget can be found here. The city council will vote on it Tuesday, August 18. There will be public hearing beforehand. All citizens are urged to participate if they have an objection to the budget. Follow us on Twitter.
La Liga and Movistar put together for the return of soccer with a particular programming that can be broadcast each Sunday on the Movistar LaLiga and #Vamos channels underneath the identify of The Partidazo #VolverEsGanar.The specials will unveil information of the competitors solely, as introduced in a press launch the employers’ affiliation of the golf equipment and the platform.Date for the return of LaLiga.Tomorrow it will likely be the flip to the first installment (#Vamos and Movistar LaLiga, 22:00), directed by Juanma Castaño, and which can have Javier Tebas as a visitor. The president of LaLiga will talk about the present scenario of the competitors and will announce the subsequent steps that each one events will comply with. The announcement comes when the actual date of the return of LaLiga is debated. The president is anticipated to have the ability to formally specify when the championship will resume.The Partidazo #VolverEsGanar It’ll even have the participation of a number of gamers from LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank. It is going to be the second to share their emotions and considerations throughout the interval of confinement, the financial scenario of the golf equipment, the protocol to make sure the security of the protagonists in coaching, journey and matches, in addition to their expectations in the return of the competitors.The first half of this particular program will also be seen on the LaLiga Fb account, in addition to on the social networks of Banco Santander and the relaxation of the LaLiga sponsors.Countdown to get the ball rolling once more with ElPartidazo #VolverEsGanar at LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank.