Stand Up and Pay Your Bill, Ken
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2007
Contact: Eric Fought
(402) 434-2184
eric@nebraskademocrats.org
Stand Up and Pay Your Bill, Ken
LINCOLN, Neb. – Yesterday, the Lincoln Journal-Star reported that the City of Lincoln is waiving more than $100,000 in damages incurred through the mismanagement of a lawn median maintenance contract.
The contract to maintain medians on 84th Street in the city is held by Ray’s Lawn and Home Care, operated by Lincoln City Councilman and mayoral candidate Ken Svoboda.
The contract in question was to have been completed nearly three years ago, in June of 2004. The terms of the contract included damages set to $100 a day if the deadline had not been met. The total of those damages today would be $101,100 according to Assistant City Attorney Steve Huggenberger.
In early March, Mayor Coleen Seng issued a change order extending the contract to May 1st of this year. In doing so, she also ordered that $12,483 in damages be deducted from the final payment to Svoboda’s company. That leaves $88,617 that Svoboda owes the city.
“It’s time for Ken Svoboda to take full responsibility for his inability to meet the needs of the citizens of the City of Lincoln,” said Eric Fought, spokesperson for the Nebraska Democratic Party. “Svoboda needs to cut a check for the full amount owed, and should do that today.”
“Leaders stand up and admit that they were wrong,” Fought continued. “Leaders take care of their responsibilities and leaders keep their word. Ken Svoboda has shown, once and for all, that he isn’t a leader at all.”