Official Reviews Cab Issue, Vetoes Audit

Orange County’s chief internal auditor said Monday there is no need for a full-blown audit of John Wayne Airport’s bidding procedure, despite the recent controversial awarding of an exclusive taxicab contract.

The decision last spring to drop one taxicab company and hire another after the first company failed to obtain adequate insurance for its cabs had captured the attention of the county’s internal audit department.

But Peter Hughes, the department’s director, found that based on “our preliminary review,” there was no basis to initiate a full audit.

The county’s Airport Commission recommended A Taxi Cab Company one week before the Board of Supervisors was to vote on the contract.

But a day before the board’s March 21 meeting, A Taxi was removed from consideration because it failed to provide a certification of insurance.

The company has alleged negligence in a lawsuit filed against the county.

The contract eventually was awarded to a competing firm, American Taxi.

County officials have adopted new procedures in their bidding system. Contractors who are self-insured or have a deductible of $5,000 or more will automatically have their insurance documents reviewed by the county’s risk management office.

In addition, contractors providing any type of vehicle service such as taxis must have zero-deductible insurance and have $2 million in coverage, an increase of $1 million.