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10-25-2006
Competitive Bidding Yields Big Savings Carcieri Proposes Passing Savings to Rhode Island Drivers
Governor Donald L. Carcieri today announced that his Fiscal Fitness team, part of the Governor’s Big Audit, has saved another $15 million over five years by awarding the statewide Emissions and Safety Testing program to a new company though a competitive bidding process.
In 2000, the General Assembly by statute determined the specific amount that was to be paid to the vendor -- $13 per vehicle inspection. Under the competitive bidding process that was initiated through Governor Carcieri’s Fiscal Fitness team, the amount per inspection has been reduced to $4 per inspection under a new contract that has been awarded to SysTech International.
“This new contract is yet another example of the ability of government to reduce costs and the burden on taxpayers. My Fiscal Fitness team has worked hard to reduce unnecessary state spending,” Governor Carcieri said.
“It is hard to imagine why the General Assembly mandated a specific dollar value to be paid to a vendor,” the Governor continued. “This new contract demonstrates without a doubt why an open and transparent competitive bidding process has resulted in huge tax dollar savings for Rhode Island.”
The current fee structure is written into the emissions testing law. Governor Carcieri said he would propose amending the legislation so the bulk of these savings would be passed along to the consumer – reducing the inspection fee per vehicle from $47 to $39 per vehicle. The Governor also proposed increasing the fee paid to inspection stations by one dollar.
SysTech International works with safety and emissions testing programs in Connecticut, New York, Utah, and Tennessee.
Instituting a competitive bidding process has been one of the ways that the Big Audit is saving Rhode Island taxpayers more than $267 million through the end of Fiscal Year 2007. For example, by rebidding the state employee health insurance contract, taxpayers are saving $25 million over three years.
The Big Audit’s Fiscal Fitness program is fixing inefficiencies in state government and finding solutions – reducing costs, capturing lost revenues, consolidating redundancies, and streamlining functions and services. By the end of Fiscal Year 2010, more than $500 million in savings is expected.
The Fiscal Fitness program has received national recognition for its efforts. The Governor’s Fiscal Fitness Purchasing Initiative recently received the 2006 NIGP (National Institute of Government Purchasing) Innovations in Public Procurement Award for its innovative solutions in purchasing. Additionally, the Fiscal Fitness programs was selected ahead of 65 other programs in 10 states as a regional finalist by the Council of State Governments for another innovation award.
