NEWS Office of the Governor State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, State House, Providence, RI 02903 www.governor.ri.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brian Stern Monday, May 8, 2006 (401) 222-8337
The Governor’s Fiscal Fitness Program Spearheads Effort to Implement Electronic Records Storage in Rhode Island
On Friday, the Department of Administration issued a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) for Records Storage and Services. This RFP included a solicitation for electronic records storage, a concept that is entirely new to Rhode Island government. The Governor’s Fiscal Fitness Program took the lead role in drafting the RFP that includes an “outside the box” approach to solving a growing records storage problem in state government.
The State spends over a million dollars annually on paper records storage. The Fiscal Fitness team has been involved since its inception in 2003 in a project to reduce records by implementing record retention schedules that provide accepted destruction dates for public records. “The paper problem is growing much faster than our ability to implement retention schedules.” stated the Fiscal Fitness Program Director, Dan Majcher. “As a result, State government is buried in paper, file cabinets, and storage costs. We have no choice but to find a better solution.”
Several other states have followed the lead of the private sector and looked to technology to solve a growing paper problem. “We must draw upon advances in technology to find a more economical and efficient answer to the growing paper problem in Rhode Island State government,” said Executive Director of Administration, Brian P. Stern. The current paper records storage contract has been in place since 1992, and has been extended several times. This solicitation also includes paper records storage for the current inventory of public records. The RFP allows potential vendors to bid on either the paper records storage or electronic storage, or both. Stern stated, “Our goal is to find flexible storage solutions that give agencies the ability to meet their specific needs, but also provide uniformity in the medium of long-term storage. This is not going to be an easy task, but this is long overdue and is critical to the effective day-to-day business operations of the state.”
An Evaluation Committee has been assembled that includes representatives from Fiscal Fitness, State Purchasing, the Division of Information Technology, the Division of Taxation, the Department of Business Regulation, the Department of Health, the Department of Labor and Training, and the Secretary of State’s Office. “It is important to include individuals with diverse perspectives and expertise on this committee, and many other agencies will be consulted later in the process. The members of this committee have extensive experience,” stated Stern.
The Governor was extremely pleased with this development, “The reason that I initiated the Fiscal Fitness Program was to find ways of improving government and saving money for the citizens of our state. This is a perfect example of how my Fiscal Fitness team is attempting to make a positive difference in State government. Using technology for storing records will facilitate public access, provide secure and improved storage practices and ultimately save taxpayer dollars. I am 100% behind this initiative.”
In April 2003, Governor Carcieri initiated the Fiscal Fitness program, which was designed to carry out a review of state government practices, policies and procedures. The goal of Fiscal Fitness is to promote government efficiency through streamlined government operations and improved delivery of state government services for citizens. For more information on the Governor’s Fiscal Fitness Program, visit their website at www.fiscalfitness.ri.gov.