If on 3/30/26, one input the keywords “roof replacement” into the MLGW Meeting Portal, the consistent return would have been “B Four Plied” as the roof replacement bid winner. Such results go back years and involve the McGowen and previous administrations. B Four Plied, Inc. is a local roofing contractor located at 3980 Winchester Road in Memphis, TN.

A cursory quantitative analysis of search results raises the question, is MLGW closed for competitive business when it comes to roof replacement? Anecdotal data answers the question that MLGW is in fact closed for competitive roof replacement business.

Anecdotal reports from vendor participants at pre-bid conference meetings paint a picture of an incumbency advantage for B Four Plied (BFP). Reports state that a BFP representative effectively takes over the MLGW led bid meetings by suggesting project scope changes and addons. MLGW employees and consultants are then seen taking notes articulated by BFP for additional project addons.

The additional project addons then result in the issuance of a project addendum that increases overall project costs, that typically benefits BFP, based on cursory quantitative analysis, while costing ratepayers more.

Anecdotal observers also state that the BFP representative has an MLGW Badge allowing BFP admittance into MLGW facilities, while other roofing contractors lack the same access.

Further, anecdotal observations state that MLGW roof replacements bids only permit grading for incumbent vendors, while also offering women owned and Memphis located business preference over roofing contractors located outside of Memphis but in Shelby County. BFP is a woman owned incumbent MLGW roofing contractor located in the City of Memphis.

Based on the above, lower roofing bids are then often tossed aside, in favor of BFP and ratepayers lose. Is this an isolated case at MLGW or going on everywhere? Overseers should find out!

MLGW is a highly professional organization that is forced to operate in the corrupt City of Memphis. Given MLGW’s base of operations, overseers must know that MLGW is either touched or immersed in corrupt public contracting practices.

Further, given McGowen’s MLGW forward leaning rate posture, rigorous oversight of MLGW is the only practice that can protect ratepayers from high rates. Thus far, overseers have failed MLGW ratepayers. Just recently MLGW increased their Council contract approval level to $500K. And sadly, it really does not matter because the Council failed to pull and question MLGW contracts at lower levels. This is likely because the Council refused to hire a utility consultant to help them evaluate MLGW contracts.

The only way that lay Councilors and the MLGW Board of Commissioners can evaluate MLGW is with the aid of a utility consultant and through financial ratios compared to other utilities. Such work should be administered by the City Council and MLGW Board of Commissioners and not by MLGW administration.

Currently, there is no push back from the MLGW Board of Commissioners or City Council when it comes to MLGW administrative requests and proposals. NONE. This reality points to skyrocketing utility rates, all while the FY26 utility bill comparison is unavailable and no FY26 monthly financials are published.

This latest finding of MLGW incumbent vendor advantages is likely not limited to roof replacement. Just a while back, the Taxpayer Justice Institute using benchmarked capital spend to depreciation ratios, squelched Doug McGowen’s public claims of decades of MLGW capital underinvestment, as the reason for grid frailty.

The fact is that MLGW ratepayers, on a historic basis, adequately funded MLGW capital expenditures, going back decades, but got a frail grid. Are incumbent vendor advantages and lack of competition that drive up costs a contributing culprit to the frail grid? Perhaps, along with other public contracting matters. After all, outstanding is the $50-70M MLGW tree trimming ripoff that overseers have thus far ignored.

If the $228M in tree trimming contracts pay out in full, that will result in a $50-70M rip, leaving ratepayers holding the bag. The only answer to excessive MLGW cash balances and excessive rates is rigorous public oversight of MLGW. That’s all….

Check the Facts

MLGW “roof replacement” search results 3/30/26 - https://1drv.ms/b/c/229429ba69455723/IQA-uixWnGA8Q6Z_J6Tl9obZAU1tzTqf4OG1lu3UdiO7WYw?e=bymWms