As of May 1st many teen drivers in New Jersey are required to display red stickers on their license plates to comply with Kyleigh's Law. The stickers allow police to readily identify them as new drivers. Many New Jersians were upset about privacy issues. No one seemed to notice that the contract for 500,000 of these 1" x 1" stickers went to a Chicago company (SecureMark Decal) at a cost of $644,000. That's about $1.30 per sticker. According to NJ Motor Vehicles, SecureMark placed the only bid for the contract.
Some state businesses might ask why a local company could not be found to provide the stickers. State residents might question whether or not the stickers could have been purchased at a better price since they will be required by law to purchase the stickers to offset the cost to the state. How many of you think that the state could have gotten a better price? Is 10 cents a reasonable price? Savings about $580,000. Is 25 cents a reasonable price? Savings about $519,000. What do you think?
Some state businesses might ask why a local company could not be found to provide the stickers. State residents might question whether or not the stickers could have been purchased at a better price since they will be required by law to purchase the stickers to offset the cost to the state. How many of you think that the state could have gotten a better price? Is 10 cents a reasonable price? Savings about $580,000. Is 25 cents a reasonable price? Savings about $519,000. What do you think?
A 'sticker price' (literally) of $1.30 is absolutely outrageous. For a state that is in the middle of a fiscal crisis, it is amazing that this did not even make the headlines.
ReplyDeleteAdd this to yet another state spending malfuction, such as the one recently covered here: NJ Transit, an RFP in Futility.