Lawmakers review bids for $3 million state contract in closed session

TOPEKA — Lawmakers reviewed proposals from companies seeking a state consulting contract worth $3 million in private on Thursday.

The contract is to perform an efficiency audit of Kansas government, which lawmakers hope will identify cost savings that can be approved in the next legislative session.

Four companies submitted bids: the Boston Consulting Group; Deloitte Consulting; McGladrey; and Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services.

Three of the companies gave 10-minute presentations Thursday afternoon in a public meeting of the Legislative Budget Committee. But the committee voted to hear more detailed hour-long presentations from each company in a session that was closed to the public.

“We want to be as open as possible in this process, but we have to be cautious with proprietary information,” said Rep. Ron Ryckman Jr., R-Olathe, the committee’s co-chair.

Statute allows legislative or executive committees to go into closed session to discuss trade secrets and confidential data with a company, but it forbids committee members from discussing which way they’re leaning on a bid.

Rep. Jerry Henry, D-Cummings, said a decision to go into closed session is very rare. No lawmaker on the committee voted against closing the session.

The Kansas Press Association criticized the committee’s move.

“I can’t imagine why this should be all confidential … I don’t know how you justify it,” said Rich Gannon, legislative director for the Kansas Press Association and a former lawmaker.

In the portion of the meeting that was open to the public, New York-based Deloitte highlighted its work with other states on similar projects.

Steve Dahl, an analyst for the company, said it had identified $580 million in savings for the state of Minnesota in a review that was initiated by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and $300 million in redundant spending for Oklahoma that was used to address a budget shortfall this year.

Kansas lawmakers decided to have an efficiency audit after facing an $800 million revenue shortfall, which they closed through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.

Chicago-based McGladrey listed previous clients as the Colorado Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Department of Human Services and the Illinois Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, without providing details on cost savings during the public portion of the meeting.

One of the consultants with the Massachusetts-based Boston Consulting Group is a former member of the Kansas House: Mike Slattery, a Democrat who previously represented Johnson County. He is also the son of former U.S. Rep. Jim Slattery.

Slattery works in the firm’s Washington office.

Lawmakers will hear the bid from the final firm, Alvarez & Marsal, Friday morning. They are scheduled to select a firm that afternoon.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Lawmakers review bids for $3 million state contract in closed session."