Measure twice, cut once

Initially, the special review committee was supposed to unveil the report on Sept. 5 and then again on Sept. 12. Wellington Webb, chairman of the special review committee cited the need to “get it [the report] right,” even though FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn acknowledged that he called Webb repeatedly for updates on the report’s status.

“We took a page out of the carpentry industry: ‘Measure it twice; cut it once,’” Webb said during today’s meeting.

Fitzgerald said he initially was “very concerned” by the report when he and other board members were given it on Friday, but he mentioned some aspects that he believes are encouraging.

“In essence, the report finds that our processes were not illegal,” Fitzgerald said during the meeting. “I am certainly glad that we did not break the law.

“However, my motion did not assert that we did break any law but instead called out that some of our processes and procedures should be improved upon and that we were not operating at the best-practice levels that I hoped we would.”

Fitzgerald said his optimism about the report centered around recommendations for improving certain board processes—a surprising assertion, because members of the special review committee had noted just minutes before that today’s report contained no such recommendations, which are being reserved until the second-phase report is released.

“After studying the report, I found that the review committee—while finding no breach of the law—made many recommendations for board improvement that are consistent with my calls for board improvement,” Fitzgerald said during the meeting. “Specifically, I am pleased that the report recommends that the board consider revisiting the openness of our meetings, the involvement of public safety and of our PSAC, and the equal access to documents, budget and information by all board members.

“These recommendations were a central tenet to my motion, and I am encouraged that the special review committee agrees with me that improvement in these areas is in our best interest as an organization. The health and success of FirstNet, for many years to come, is being decided upon now, and I don’t feel we should waste any time in considering the recommendations for improvement, making the needed corrections and moving forward to success. I hope we can do that in short order.”

During a call this afternoon with Urgent Communications, Fitzgerald was asked to cite the recommendations he referenced in his statement during the meeting. Fitzgerald declined to comment, stating that any further comments outside of the meeting would have to come from FirstNet spokeswoman Heather Phillips. In an e-mail, Phillips stated that she does not know of any recommendations included in the report.

Although there are not any recommendations in this report, the special review committee will provide recommendations to the FirstNet board after it presents the second phase of its report that will address Fitzgerald’s allegations of improper procurement practices and board members’ conflicts of interest. The special review committee will complete its investigation and issue a report on these issues “in the coming months,” Webb said during the meeting.

Ginn said it is important for the FirstNet board members to rebuild trust in one another, so they can proceed with the massive task of developing a nationwide broadband network for first responders.

 “It’s one thing to meet the statutory requirements, but it’s another thing to have a highly effective board and have it do its job well,” Ginn said during the meeting. “I certainly agree … that there will come a point in time when we will review our processes and hopefully improve them and, as a result, do a better job.”