LANSING – The administration of Governor Rick Snyder is examining the state’s procurement process for changes, Budget Director John Nixon said Friday.
Appearing on Michigan Public Television’s “Off the Record,” Nixon said the major issue is the requirement that contracts worth more than $25,000 be put out for bid for two weeks. Either the threshold should increase or the time the item gets put out to bid should be shortened, he said.
“We are looking at the whole procurement process from A to Z,” he said. “$25,000 is a lot different now than it was 25 to 30 years ago.”
The $48 million approved for the 2012-13 fiscal year to upgrade the state’s information technology systems will help, Mr. Nixon said. He added that the administration has built that funding into the base of the budget with the idea of spending that amount of money for five years.
Such upgrades will allow for going to an electronic procurement process that would enable significant savings for the state, Nixon said.
However, Mr. Nixon said he had no intention of recommending the end of the Administrative Board, which grants final approval to all contracts.
“That’s a control piece that I think gives people confidence,” he said. “I think it’s a good check and balance on what we’re doing.”
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