CARCIERI SAYS BIG AUDIT/FISCAL FITNESS INITIATIVES HAVE RESULTED IN BIG SAVINGS

02-16-2006

Governor and Fiscal Fitness Team Announce Priorities for Second Phase of the Big Audit

When Governor Donald L. Carcieri formally initiated the Big Audit nearly three years ago, he called the project a “far-reaching initiative” that would focus on cutting costs, improving efficiencies, and reducing waste. At a press conference this afternoon to celebrate the Big Audit’s accomplishments to date and to launch the next phase of the Governor’s comprehensive effort to streamline state government, Governor Carcieri said that the Big Audit has succeeded in reining in the costs and making it more customer-friendly and efficient.

“With the hard work and perseverance of state employees and members of our Fiscal Fitness teams, the Big Audit is producing big savings for Rhode Island taxpayers,” Governor Carcieri said.

The Big Audit has saved the state $143 million through the end of the current fiscal year, and will save more than $100 million in the next fiscal year, bringing the total savings through FY 2007 to $268.3 million. Through 2010, Fiscal Fitness leaders estimated that Big Audit initiatives will save more than $490 million.

Carcieri noted that these savings have significantly reduced the state’s structural deficit. “By streamlining state government, by instituting smarter purchasing practices, and by negotiating better contracts, we have improved the way we deliver state services to the public while lowering the costs of those services to the taxpayers,” Carcieri said.

Savings from Governor Carcieri’s Big Audit cut across all areas of state government. The state employees who make up the Fiscal Fitness teams examined 28 separate departments and agencies and found operational inefficiencies and incompatible and conflicting policies. New initiatives recommended by those teams and the general public that were implemented by Governor Carcieri have successfully streamlined state government and resulted in improved purchasing practices and better contracts for state services.

Savings have included centralizing such areas as human resources, information technology, state facilities and legal services. These initiatives saved alone $4.8 million through FY 2005 and an additional $3.4 million in FY 2006. The tax clearance project -- which requires tax scofflaws to pay outstanding state taxes before receiving a driver’s license or professional license -- resulted in $8 million in new revenues in FY 2005 with an additional $6 million or more anticipated for FY 2006.

Governor Carcieri said that new initiatives are also taking hold. In January, the Department of Administration held its first “reverse auction,” a process by which the state seeks progressively lower bids on goods and services from approved vendors, and saved $86,000 in purchasing 35 new state vehicles. In March, the state will conduct a second reverse auction for the purchase of DOT trucks and state police vehicles, and expects to save $500,000.

Governor Carceri announced the second phase of the Big Audit/Fiscal Fitness project will introduce and identify new set of projects, including greater efficiencies in the delivery of state services as well as the continuing implementation of the more difficult projects from Phase I. This will include working with cities and towns to help them achieve similar savings in their budgets and, in some cases, piggybacking on state savings.

“As we open up a new chapter in the way that state government function, it’s fair to say that we are making history,” Carcieri said. “I applaud the work of the Fiscal Fitness team members that is enabling us to see real cost savings for the taxpayers of our state.”

Carcieri noted that the support from the General Assembly and the state employee labor unions have been essential in moving many of the Big Audit initiatives forward.