When auditioning for public contracts, this firm comes
with a full entourage. They come to put
on a show. They look at your town’s
demographics and make their sales pitch accordingly in a shameless manner. In Lodi’s case, they brought up some of the
poorest, worst performing districts that they represent as though Lodi should be happy to be placed in
that category. Matthew Giacobbe ended
his presentation by referencing Vitamia’s to make it seem like he
is familiar in some way with Lodi.
The firm boasts about how large it is and how they
have people that specialize in all areas.
After reviewing the firm’s bills, one would think that they don’t have
anyone that specializes in anything.
They have billed excessively for research on general, basic manners
where the same information can be accessed through simple on-line searches.
The firm stated that their $165/rate was negotiable
during one presentation. When it came
time to negotiate, I was told the attorney was on vacation in Italy. Soon after, Matthew Giacobbe had the interim
business administrator sign a contract with him on behalf of the district. The contract was never presented to the board
nor was it ever presented to the board president for a signature.
Lodi is on pace to go over budget this school year with
legal costs. It’s completely
unnecessary. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
