When is a Contract not a Contract?

When is a contract not a contract? Well, it's apparent that college football and basketball coaching contracts are never really contractural. I mean how many times has a coach signed a contract for 5 years at x kazillion dollars only to have that contract "renegotiated" 2 or 3 years in for even more kazillion dollars.

But that is not as worrisome as when government signs a contract with an individual and then doesn't live up to its terms.

I personally went through this with ACHD. We had to sell our property for the Ustick Rd widening and had a provision negotiated in that was absolutely ignored by the contractor and unenforced by ACHD.

Since I've been on the Commission, I've heard of a number of other situations where contracts are written and then not followed. This is worrisome. If you can't trust government to follow through on contracts, then that is not honorable or moral.

If ACHD is going to promise people certain things in exchange for taking their property, then by Jove, those things should be done. If contractors ignore those provisions, they should be punished. If ACHD doesn't enforce provisions previously agreed to, the taxpayers should take heed because at the end of the day, any liability payments come out of their pockets.