City terminates $150M infrastructure contract after late payments
A contract worth $150 million to fix Baltimore's aging infrastructure was terminated
By Rachel Duncan, Ashley Hinson
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — A contract worth $150 million to fix Baltimore’s aging infrastructure was terminated Wednesday.
The company involved, Metra Industries, is also banned from doing business with the city for the next two years.
Leaders said this follows through on the promise to protect minority and women-owned businesses working with the city.
It was a unanimous decision made by Baltimore City’s Board of Estimates after an investigation by the Minority and Women’s Business Opportunity Office found Metra repeatedly failed to pay subcontractors on time. The office’s chief, Christopher Lundy, said in one case, payment came more than a year after the work was finished, and only happened after the city got involved.
“A prime contractor must pay their sub-contractors timely for satisfactory work,” Lundy said.
An attorney for Metra admitted to the late payments.
“We acknowledge that we have not always, Metra has not always paid within the seven-day requirement,” said Venroy July. “But we need some context here. We all know Baltimore City does not always pay its contractors on time.”
July provided several reasons why payments were not paid on time, including the COVID-19 pandemic, confusion over raw material costs, and the small dollar amounts due.
Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry says the reaction was appropriate.
“The board did not make this decision lightly, but I stand behind those recommendations 100%,” he said.
The city will now solicit bids for a replacement to the work that was being handled by Metra.
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