Rule of Thumb: If there is a Conflict of Interest involved, look for the Scam

A Facilities Master Plan for the West Sonoma County Union High School District in Sebastopol, California, dated June 22, 2011, lists as its' "Roofing Consultant" the following:

     "The Garland Co., Inc., Novato, CA.

      Consultant:  Sean Mulligan"



The Roof Consultants' Institute (RCI) reads in their Code of Ethics, in part:



"Obligations to the Client

Members and registrants shall conduct themselves in a fashion which brings credit to themselves, their employers and their profession. In addition to upholding the behavioral standards described above, a member or registrant:



I. Shall preserve the confidence of his/her client or employer and serve each in a professional and competent manner.



II. Shall exercise unprejudiced and unbiased judgment and conduct when performing all professional services; 



III. Shall practice only in his/her area of competence;



IV. Shall decline any activity or employment, avoid any significant financial or other interest, and decline any contribution if it would reasonably appear that such activity, employment, interest, or contribution could compromise his or her professional judgment or conduct, or prevent him/her from serving the best interest of his/her client or employer, without making full disclosure to the client and obtaining the client's consent thereto;



V. Shall neither offer nor make any payment or gift to any public official, private client or industry representative with the intent of influencing that person's judgment or decision in connection with an existing or prospective project in which the member/registrant is interested;"



and



"The standards contained in this Code of Ethics are statements of ethical principles having broad applicability to members and registrants of RCI. However, the enumeration of particular duties and the proscription of certain conduct do not negate the existence of other obligations logically flowing from such principles. Conduct deemed unethical may be construed to include lesser offenses, such as aiding and abetting."

The link to the RCI's Code of Ethics is here:

http://www.rci-online.org/ethics.html 

So let's just compare what the Roof Consultants' Institute's standards are versus what is happening right now in the West Sonoma County Union High School District:

"

II. Shall exercise unprejudiced and unbiased judgment and conduct when performing all professional services;"

     The "Roof Consultant is an employee of one "manufacturing" company, and therefore cannot be unprejudiced or unbiased.

  

     Question:  Is Mr. Sean Mulligan a "Registered Roof Consultant (RRC)" or "Registered Roof Observer" by the RCI?



IV. Shall decline any activity or employment, avoid any significant financial or other interest, and decline any contribution if it would reasonably appear that such activity, employment, interest, or contribution could compromise his or her professional judgment or conduct, or prevent him/her from serving the best interest of his/her client or employer, without making full disclosure to the client and obtaining the client's consent thereto;

• Is the Client truly informed as to the fact that the "Roof Consultant" is not an independent professional?  
• Is the extent of the problems known with Garland internationally with the client?  
• Did they consent to being charged with huge prices for relabeled products, reinstalled way too soon ("Churned")?  
• Is the local Teacher's Union there aware that huge prices will be paid for services ongoing for years, not needed?  How do they feel about it?  
• How do the taxpayers feel about it?

V. Shall neither offer nor make any payment or gift to any public official, private client or industry representative with the intent of influencing that person's judgment or decision in connection with an existing or prospective project in which the member/registrant is interested"



      Well, the question is:  Are there any payments being made?  It's the elephant in the room....



We do know of this issue:

      According to Garland, they "indemnify" architects up to $50,000, the Errors and Omissions Insurance Policy deductible on many an architects' policy....is that not an "inducement" of and by itself alone?



Just why would an architect NOT use a real Roof Consultant, registered by the RCI?

All these questions are important, and the taxpayers there need to know before just signing off on what this architect is apparently "recommending".

Conflicts of Interest, pure and simple, allow scams to occur....and that is precisely what West Sonoma County Unified High School District has gotten itself into.

It is known that another architect has complained in writing to that Superintendent about such - and no answer was received.

See below the appropriate first two pages of that Facilities Master Plan, and specifically on page 2, for the listing of Garland and one specific Sales Rep, Sean Mulligan, as the "Roofing Consultant::