Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

New administration’s infrastructure list could mean billions of dollars in government contract opportunities

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The Trump Administration has compiled a list of about 50 infrastructure projects nationwide — totaling more than $137 billion, which could represent the core of major of domestic spending in coming years.

The White House’s proposed investment priorities are outlined in documents obtained by McClatchy’s Kansas City Star and The News Tribune, published on jan. 24, 2017.

The list is entitled “Emergency & National Security Projects,” and was reportedly shared with the National Governors Association in December requesting further suggestions.  The letter from the Presidential Transition Team states that it is “looking for 3 to 5 project suggestions from each state that they would vet for inclusion in a new program.”

One project in Georgia currently appears on the list of proposed projects — acceleration of the Savannah Harbor Expansion project.

To see the full list of proposed projects, click on this link: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3409546-Emergency-NatSec50Projects-121416-1-Reduced.html

Savannah Harbor Expansion Project Acceleration
The acceleration of the expansion of Savannah Harbor appears as #19 on a list of 50 national infrastructure projects proposed by the Trump transition team to the National Governors Association.

Clayton County holding annual small business expo on Jan. 19th

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Clayton County governmentThe Clayton County Water Authority and Clayton County government are holding their 2nd annual Small Business Expo on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

The event is designed to provide networking opportunities for prime contractors and  local, minority and women owned small businesses.

Registration for this event is $25 ($20 early-bird registration by Nov. 30, 2016).  Register on-line at https://2017smallbizexpo.eventbrite.com

The event flyer may be downloaded here: clayton-county-jan-19-expo-flyer

Clayton County Water AuthorityThe Expo will be held at Clayton State University, Student Activity Center, 2008 Clayton State Blvd., Morrow, GA 30260.

Questions about this event may be directed via email to ccwa_slbe_program@ccwa.us or (770) 960-5880.

 

Long-awaited U.S. infrastructure spending comes to fruition

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State & Local Spending 2016America’s states and cities are finally seizing on record-low interest rates to finance needed work on roads, bridges and schools.

After borrowing costs tumbled worldwide as central banks sought to jump-start their economies, agencies from New York to California have sold about $272 billion of bonds this year and are funneling more into construction projects, instead of just paying off higher-cost debt. That’s put the municipal market on track to approach the record level of sales reached in 2010, when the federal government was seeking to hasten the nation’s recovery by footing some of the bills on debt issued for public works.

“That’s going to be the story for the year — rebuilding infrastructure,” said Mikhail Foux, head of municipal strategy in New York for underwriter Barclays Plc, which forecasts that issuance may reach $400 billion this year.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-26/long-awaited-muni-bond-infrastructure-spending-comes-to-fruition

After milestone year of recovery, state government spending to slow

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State Spending Expected to SlowThis year was one of milestones for state budgets, but the upward swings of 2016 will likely be dampened in the years ahead.

It took almost a decade, but total state spending and revenues finally surpassed pre-recession peaks this year, according to a new survey from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO). Yet more than two dozen states haven’t reached that milestone, a sign of the recovery’s uneven progress after the worst economic collapse in more than a generation.

While fiscal 2016 also marked the highest annual growth — 5.5 percent — for total state spending in nearly a decade, it was primarily driven by significant one-time spending increases and technical adjustments in several large states, including New York, Ohio and Texas. The median spending growth rate across the 50 states was 3.8 percent, which is lower than last year’s but slightly ahead of expectations a year ago.

Looking ahead, spending is projected to slow down even more, to 2.5 percent next fiscal year (which begins July 1 for most states). Revenues are also projected to slow.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/gov-nasbo-survey-2017-state-spending.html

Contractors should reach out to state and local governments prior to June 30

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June 30 marks the end of the fiscal year in 46 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many cities and counties, likewise, have fiscal year-ends on June 30.

NASPO logo
Click on NASPO logo above for directory of state purchasing offices and other resources.

“In Connecticut, our fiscal year-end is June 30th. Purchasing agencies are always scrutinizing their budgets, but between mid-March and the fiscal year-end, this is when the bulk of the unplanned purchasing accelerates, if there are dollars available,” says Carol Wilson, C.P.M., who is Director of Procurement for the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services.

Wilson recently discussed fiscal year-end spending in her presentation at the National Association of State Procurement Officials’ How to Market to State Governments 2016 meeting in March. Wilson told vendors, contractors and purchasing officials in attendance to pay attention to the fiscal year in government agencies.

Keep reading this article at: http://m.americancityandcounty.com/hardware-software/government-contractors-should-reach-out-agencies-prior-june-30

Report: Private sector key to nation’s infrastructure, but hurdles remain

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Amid congressional gridlock, business leaders and transportation officials are turning to the private sector to help fix the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.

But a new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center says the effort is going to require an investment model that encourages more transparency and less regulatory hurdles.

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s executive council on infrastructure unveiled a set of recommendations last week outlining how the country can fill an estimated $1.4 trillion infrastructure shortfall between now and 2025.

Bipartisan Policy Center 05.2016

Lawmakers have repeatedly struggled to come up with a long-term funding solution for the country’s infrastructure, despite a growing number of congested roads and deficient bridges. The federal gasoline tax, which finances the Highway Trust Fund, has not been raised in over two decades.

Keep reading this article at: http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/280070-report-private-sector-key-to-nations-infrastructure-but-hurdles-remain

Georgia ranked near bottom for public access to state expenditure info

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Georgia is given a score of “C” — based on a numerical score of 74 out of 100 — earning a ranking of 42rd among state governments for providing public access to spending information, according to a report issued by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund.  PIRG is a 501(c)(3) organization promotes good government.

Government spending transparency is improving, but many states still lag far behind, according to “Following the Money 2016: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data,” the sixth annual report of its kind by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund. Some states have improved their spending transparency web portals significantly, earning perfect scores in this year’s report, while others are still barely achieving the minimum standards.

State governments spend hundreds of billions of dollars each year through contracts for goods and services, subsidies to encourage economic development, and other expenditures. Public accountability helps ensure that state funds are spent as wisely as possible.

State-operated spending transparency websites provide checkbook-level detail on government spending, allowing citizens and watchdog groups to view payments made to individual companies, the goods or services purchased, and the benefits obtained in exchange for public subsidies.

All 50 states operate websites to make information on state expenditures accessible to the public, and in the past year these web portals continued to improve. For instance, all but four states provide checkbook-level data for one or more economic development subsidy programs and more than half of states make that subsidy data available for researchers to download and analyze.

For more information on this study, see: http://uspirgedfund.org/reports/usf/following-money-2016 

To download the report, go to: http://uspirgedfund.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/USP%20FollowMoney16%20Report%20Apr16.pdf

 

Mayors view infrastructure needs as their biggest problem

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Mayors view underfunded infrastructure as the “most pressing problem” they face, says a new survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Boston University’s Initiative on Cities.

U.S. Conference of MayorsThe 2015 Menino Survey of Mayors, released on Jan. 20, says that nearly half of the mayors who responded to the survey say that infrastructure is their biggest challenge over the next five years or more—for issues that are primarily state or federal responsibilities.

That high percentage represents “a striking level of accord for an open-ended question,” says the report. No other topic received more than 20% of the mayors’ responses. “Nearly all of those who referenced infrastructure focused on a lack of funding for upkeep and improvements,” it adds.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.enr.com/articles/38639-mayors-view-infrastructure-needs-as-their-top-problem

Local government contracting opportunities rebounding

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Government state, local and education (SLED) contracting opportunities grew slightly in the third quarter of 2015, the first positive quarter in five, a promising sign for next year, according to a new Onvia report.

Local Govt Contracting 2015-16The Seattle-based government business intelligence company’s procurement snapshot shows SLED bid and request for proposal (RFP) activity increased .3 percent after a “noticeable decline” at the end of 2014.

Bids have been limited by the rise of cooperative purchasing and the sharing of contracts across agencies—and don’t expect the use of that cost-saving measure to decrease.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.routefifty.com/2015/11/local-government-contracting-opportunities/123994/

Also see:

How vendors can make the most of state & local procurement opportunities – http://gtpac.org/2015/10/14/how-vendors-can-make-the-most-of-state-local-procurement-opportunities/

State, local government IT spending increase is an opportunity for contractors – http://gtpac.org/2014/08/29/state-local-government-it-spending-increase-is-an-opportunity-for-contractors/

How vendors can make the most of state & local procurement opportunities

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Diversifying among more levels of the government contracting market is a start.

SLED MarketVendors with a data-driven strategy for allocating sales resources among all five levels of the fragmented state, local and education (SLED) government contracting market are most successful, according to a new Onvia report.

Procurement data shows city and state agencies comprise the largest project bid volume, but the agencies most actively issuing awards are a small percentage of the market.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.routefifty.com/2015/10/how-vendors-can-make-most-sled-procurement-opportunities/122616

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