It's time for more disclosure

Tour of Missouri, Inc. (TOM Inc.) is looking more and more like a big black box into which millions of our tax dollars go, but from which little light escapes. 

Regardless of whether or not the Tour is fully funded this year with $1.5 million in state money, I think there are questions that should be addressed before any more tax dollars are released.  If Peter Kinder and Tour supporters continue to require extensive public financing for the race, it's high time for some basic transparency and accountability, just like we'd expect from any other public entity. 

Reading the coverage, listening to the radio and absorbing lightning-fast tweets from reporters and tour supporters, I've been compiling a list of key questions that I think deserve more exploration. Have other questions?  Leave them in comments and we'll do what we can to figure things out.

Whose lawsuits is Peter Kinder talking about?
On the radio and with reporters and with activists, Peter Kinder has been saying that a reduction in taxpayer support would open the state to lawsuit with vendors. But there's something about this that just isn't making sense.  As interim director of tourism Bob Smith said yesterday, "no contract has been signed for this year's race."  And Tony Messenger has even more in today's Post-Dispatch:

During the meeting, Kinder and other commissioners said they feared that canceling the race would leave the state liable for breaking millions of dollars worth of contracts.

But Medalist Sports and the other contractors don't actually have any contracts with the state of Missouri, [Chris Aronhalt of Medalist Sports] said. Rather, the company contracts with the nonprofit agency called Tour of Missouri Inc., that was set up three years ago under the direction of Kinder, who serves on the agency's board.

A member of Kinder's staff, Jerry Dowell, serves as the executive director of Tour of Missouri Inc., and Aronhalt said all the contracts for the Tour are signed by Dowell.

The contracts are signed by Dowell, as ED of TOM, Inc. -- not by Dowell as Deputy Lieutenant Governor. How are these contracts any different than contracts he signs on behalf of Dowell Consulting Group LLC, his campaign consulting side gig?  TOM. Inc. is responsible-- not the state.

Kinder is Chairman of TOM, Inc., and surely understands what's going on -- so why does his keep talking about how taxpayers will be on the hook for contracts his deputy signed in a private capacity, without state approval?

Why won't TOM Inc. share details of the contracts with the public? Amazingly, Kinder's spokesman Gary McElyea says he's not even sure he can provide details of the contracts Kinder is worried might spawn lawsuits.  From today's Post-Dispatch story:

[Kinder spokesman Gary McElyea is] not sure if they'd be provided since they are between private companies.

"We will cooperate in whatever way we can with the Department of Economic Development," McElyea said.

This is more than just questionable -- it's infuriating. Kinder, Dowell and McElyea want the Tour to be a public responsibility when it comes to financing and legal liabilities, but want to retain their rights as agents for a private corporation when it comes to disclosure and transparency.

Moreover, is the Lieutenant Governor's Director of Communications speaking on behalf of TOM Inc or the State of Missouri at this point?  Who is the "We" in the "We'll cooperate in whatever way he can." It sure seems to me he's speaking on behalf of a private company here.

What is TOM Inc's actual role in managing the race?
From June 2008-June 2009, Tour of Missouri, Inc. had a "sole source" contract with state, limiting other companies' ability to compete for the contract.  The contract (view it here, from OA) is relatively simple, and states that TOM Inc. will provide "consulting, management oversight, marketing and administration of the Tour of Missouri Professional Bicycle Race." 

In addition, the only reason given for granting TOM Inc a sole source contract (instead of competitively bidding out the management) was that administration of the race "must be performed by the entity that is the owner of all copyrights, trade-market and other property rights." There's no claim that TOM Inc. has any special skills or advantages, or even that it knows how to manage a multi-city bike race. Just that TOM inc. happens to own the naming rights.

Indeed, TOM Inc. just contracts out the actual management to a Georgia company, Medalist Sports.  What do taxpayers gain by hiring a company that seems, for all intents and purposes, just a middleman?

On the TourOfMissouri.com Contacts page, there are no TOM Inc.employeees listed besides Deputy LG Jerry Dowell (who may or may not be receiving compensation as ED of TOM Inc). There are 8 Medalist Sports employees, 1 MO Div. of Tourism contact, 2 KOM Sports Marketing employees and a web vendor.  Does TOM, Inc. actually have employees?  Or any expenses, beyond outsourced contracts and travel for LG office staffers? 

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TOM Inc. has the right to keep those things private if they choose to act like any other private corporation serving as a vendor for the state. 

But when the Chairman of the private corporation tells the public its contracts are the state's problem, and when state employees use taxpayer-financed resources on behalf of a private corporation, the demands for privacy become more suspect.