Created with the goal to save taxpayer money by reviewing and potentially cancelling alleged unauthorized contracts, the Budget Solutions Task Force will increase the frequency of its monthly meetings to take a closer look at SEIU Local 1000’s top five priorities, a union spokesperson has confirmed. State IT contracts under review include maintenance and operations for the state child support system and the FI$Cal project after it is launched.
With the next meeting on Nov. 2, working group meetings will increase through the end of the year to continue bringing in department subject matter experts to explain contract details, said SEIU’s Marie Harder, who noted that the task force could not complete its work with an entire month in between meetings.
On Oct. 16, four representatives from the FI$Cal project gave a 30-minute presentation and were subsequently requested to provide a detailed, 5,000 page staffing plan, according to Harder.
On Sept. 25, a representative from the Department of Child Support Services discussed the department’s $71.7 million, 5-year contract with a private firm to assist with maintenance and operation of the Child Support Enforcement systems, according to CalHR communications director Lynelle Jolley.
“We’ve been able to really point out to the state that these [documents] don’t always show the legal basis for entering into the contract. That documentation isn’t always there. And that’s rather important,” said Harder. “We have brought that up a number of times. We want to make sure everyone is playing by the rules.”
Harder said that union members continue to be trained how to review state contracts, to handle the increased workload of reading large documents. Ninety union members were trained in San Diego at the beginning of October. The union will hold another training session for 200 members in Sacramento on January 11.
As part of this year’s budget deal, the Brown Administration negotiated terms with SEIU Local 1000 for a side letter agreement that includes a 4.62% pay cut and one required personal leave day per month. As part of the agreement, the task force, comprised of a handful of SEIU representatives and equal number of state government representatives began performing a review of state contracts, for work that could be done by state employees with the goal of finding savings for the state.
Prior to the task force’s second meeting on August 28, the union provided state officials with a list of contracts totaling more than $2 billion.
The union narrowed the list to five top priority contracts as a way to define the review process to include a way for both sides to review contracts and gather input from department program staff.
The task force has not yet started to review a larger list beyond the union’s top five priorities which, in addition to the two IT contracts includes professional nursing services contracts with state hospitals, said Harder.
