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Tom Jackson is in a 12-step program for recovering sports writers; as part of his rehabilitation, he writes a column centered on the people, politics, passions and peculiarities of Pasco County. Email

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The Jax Files: With Tom Jackson in Pasco

Pasco County News | Breaking News

Savings through scutiny? Seeing is believing

Posted Nov 16, 2009 by Tom Jackson

Updated Nov 16, 2009 at 04:45 PM

A piece of legislation—described in a press release from the office of state Rep. Tom Anderson below—sounds like a rather terrific step forward. It would subject the state procurement process—that is, how bureaucrats go about purchasing of stuff—to rigorous analysis.

That’s all well and good, and in many respects sounds desperately overdue ... although, as any career public servant can explain in detail, there are oftentimes good reasons not to pursue the holy grail of competitive bidding for one project or another. In emergencies, for instance, or when the nature of the project is so specialized that only one outfit is capable of carrying it out.

That said, we are all for pursuing policies that maximize the utility of state tax dollars, and minimize waste.

Representative Tom Anderson, R-Dunedin and Senator Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey have filed legislation to establish an advisory committee charged with evaluating the entire state procurement and contracting process. House Bill 237 and Senate Bill 588 call for a review of the organization, planning, staffing, leadership, controlling, centralization versus decentralization and laws, policies, procedures, and practices. When implemented, the bill will result in potential savings of over $200 million a year in costs to the state.

“In today’s economic climate, taxpayers in Florida are faced with tough decisions of how to balance spending with diminishing financial resources,” stated Representative Anderson. “These same taxpayers expect their state and local governments to be prudent and diligent in ensuring that their hard-earned tax dollars are spent efficiently.

“The procurement process consumes over $30 billion of the state budget. Estimates reveal that by shifting from non-competitive to competitive procurement and better negotiations, we can save taxpayers up to twenty percent over present procurement costs. To that end, I have filed legislation that should streamline the state government procurement process, increase competition, and improve contract management and project management.

“As the legislature prepares to balance the state’s budget for next fiscal year, critical needs and high-priority issues will compete for a share of a significantly reduced pool of resources. It is imperative that we continue to comb through state expenditures to root out wasteful and impractical practices and procedures,” concluded Representative Anderson.

We wish them and their bill well. But we will believe the claimed savings when we see them.