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Union and procurement advocates ask lawmakers to sustain funding for State Contracting Standards Board
Summary
A union representative told the Appropriations subcommittee that continued funding for the State Contracting Standards Board supports procurement oversight, transparency and potential savings, and urged lawmakers not to weaken the board's authority or budget.
Travis Woodward, president of CSEA SEIU Local 2001 and a Connecticut Department of Transportation engineer, told the Appropriations Committee on Feb. 14 that sustained funding for the State Contracting Standards Board has enabled the board to hire staff and perform oversight of contracting and procurement.
Woodward said funding allowed the board to hire an executive director, chief procurement officer, staff attorney, accounts examiner, research analyst and trainer. He described the board's formation in 2007 following long advocacy for oversight and said the board's recommendations have identified potential annual savings "of up to $264,000,000" if the state engaged in competitive bidding for certain contract types.
He also told the panel the board directed the Department of Transportation to return certain bridge inspection work to state employees, yielding a projected savings of over $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2019. "State Contracting Standards Board has done and continues to do critical work on behalf of Connecticut taxpayers," Woodward said, and he urged continued funding and that the committee block efforts to weaken the board's ability to deliver accountability and transparency.
The testimony was an appeal to maintain and protect an independent procurement oversight body; no formal committee action was taken at the public hearing.
