The city of Washington, DC has approved a $7.2 million contract with Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) to run the city's ticket camera program. According to documents obtained by the Washington Times, Metropolitan Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey has certified that in this case, "competition is not feasible or practical."

The new contract which runs through September gives the company $850,000 a month -- up $200,000 from the prior no-bid contract. Mayor Anthony A. Williams has promised a competition the next time the contract comes up for renewal. To date, the ACS cameras have generated $168 million in revenue. ACS has donated more than half a million dollars to the influential lobbyists responsible for landing the contract.

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson yesterday said Mrs. Patterson wasn't alone in her concerns over the ACS deal. "The feeling was that a contract this size ought not to be let on a sole-source basis," Mr Mendelson said yesterday.