In mid-2024, the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority issued a pair of no-bid contracts to a Florida-based recruitment consulting firm.
The first contract with Gans, Gans & Associates covered the search for a deputy executive officer, who would become second in command to the now-fired Executive Director Nathan Simms. Two months later, the firm was hired for a study to determine if Simms’ pay and NRHA’s overall compensation and benefits were competitive.
The contracts, worth at least $82,500 in total, were not put out for public bid, a standard practice for government contracts meant to keep costs down and avoid corruption by encouraging public competition…