Emerging Technology, Government Business
Article | October 7, 2022
Cities, counties, and states are being forced to upgrade or purchase new technology. The old legacy systems are now inadequate, inefficient, and somewhat dangerous because of their vulnerability to hacking. Many of the old systems are almost completely obsolete. They are unable to accommodate new applications.
In today’s data driven world, technology modernization leads to less cost, increases in efficiency, fewer requirements for human resources, and huge increases in convenience for citizens. Research on numerous capital improvement plans for cities, counties, and states reveals that funding is being allocated for major technology purchases and upgrades throughout the country.
Massachusetts
In a bill just signed by the governor, the Act Financing the General Governmental Infrastructure of the Commonwealth, $660 million has been allocated for information technology (IT) needs. Community colleges are scheduled to receive $140 million for cybersecurity, software, hardware, and infrastructure upgrades. Public schools will be eligible for competitive matching grants from a program that received $50 million. Much of the education funding will be used for access to broadband and other digital learning curricula. The IT funding includes $10 million for a statewide data sharing system for all criminal justice agencies and $10 million for the state’s Department of Health.
Cities and counties in Massachusetts also will receive funding. Sommerville’s need to acquire modern backup IT appliances and disaster and cybersecurity projects will get funding. The county of Berkshire is granted funding for a study to determine the cost of constructing a municipal broadband network. Avon will receive funding to move the township’s financial software to the cloud for increased security, and Easton will get funding for an e-permitting geographic information system and some technology-based service delivery software.
Texas
City leaders in Houston plan to spend millions to upgrade some outdated technology. The current computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system is more than 13 years old and has limited functionalities. The city's public safety department is in need of a new system to efficiently respond to police, fire, and medical calls for services. Funding allocations are outlined in the city’s 2021-2025 Capital Improvement Plan. The public safety CAD replacement is scheduled to receive $1 million, and the city has allocated $2.2 million for new budgeting software.
Nevada
The Las Vegas Public Works Department plans to procure a software solution for the city’s capital improvement project program management system (CPMS). The department is challenged with aging IT infrastructure, reduced resources, and currently, each phase of the CPMS uses separate software applications. This is labor intensive and ineffective. The plan is to have one software solution that tracks and manages all phases of the CPMS, including concept, planning, design, permitting, construction, and closeout. The city has budgeted $350,000 each year from 2021-2025 to complete this project.
Virginia
The city of Norfolk plans to upgrade its Department of Utilities’ billing system at a cost of $2 million. Over two years, city leaders plan to spend $4 million per year to purchase IT infrastructure. Purchases will include public safety radios, courthouse equipment, an electronic health record system, security appliances, a cybersecurity assessment, and upgrades to e-services platform.
The city of Portsmouth will upgrade its financial software beginning in 2021 with full implementation by 2024. The project will include software and hardware upgrades and the streamlining of third-party software. Beginning in 2022, the city will purchase record retention software to house permanent, and eventually all, citywide digital records. Plans also call for updating the city’s public safety records management/computer aided dispatch system at a cost of $900,000. New software will improve mobile computing and analysis tools, management dashboards, and multijurisdictional expandable capabilities for future potential collaborations with surrounding communities.
Pennsylvania
The city of Philadelphia’s Office of Innovation and Technology has a total of $153.6 million in city tax-supported funding programmed over its six-year FY21-FY26 capital program. Of the $22.5 million recommended, $8.67 million is for major upgrades for network infrastructure stabilization and enhancement. Another $13.83 million will support citywide departmental applications. This funding will be used for replacement of an old tax legacy system, a new personnel accountability system for the fire department, an integrated jail management system, and an enterprise resource platform modernization effort for procurement, accounting, and logistics. In 2021, the city also will design and implement a new fare collection system at a cost of $1.54 million to replace or enhance the current revenue collection equipment.
North Carolina
The Forsyth County Board of County Commissioners has approved a 2020-2021 annual budget which includes a $6.2 million enterprise resource planning system. The county’s budget, finance, and human resources software programs are in critical need of replacement. In Chatham County, there are plans to replace the current tax office software at a cost of $1 million, and the current software is being evaluated for new purchases.
Oregon
The city of Salem’s Information Technology Department has announced plans to update its financial system at a cost of $650,000. This upgrade is needed to maintain support of the application and increase functionality. The city also plans to update its enterprise storage array at a cost of $250,000. This equipment is primarily used for enterprise applications including financial services, cash handling, parking, utility billing, police records, and other city records flagged for retention purchases.
There is absolutely no doubt – 2021 will be a good year for companies that have new technology to sell to public officials.
Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.
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Article | May 26, 2021
The General Services Administration plans to run an artificial-intelligence-based pilot program to help speed up how agencies procure innovative and commercial solutions. The pilot will use a combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic process automation to help GSA learn how to streamline the acquisition process, fast-track vendor selection timelines, simplify contract administration for innovative commercial items. FEDSIM is working with GSA’s Technology Transformation Service and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the sponsoring customer, to find a software-as-a-service solution that CMS regulatory staff can use to modernize regulatory workflows.
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Government Business
Article | March 11, 2022
COVID-19 hit the construction industry like a tsunami. Almost all medium to large construction projects were shuttered as government leaders scrambled to protect the health of Americans.
Today, however, even though the pandemic has not been contained, there is renewed interest in construction and reason for optimism. The immediate future is considerably brighter today than it was three months ago. Although construction projects are moving slower and fewer new ones being launched, there is definite movement.
One year ago, construction projects were so abundant industry leaders warned of imminent danger related to America’s shortage of skilled construction workers, designers, and engineers. Those alarms are not as loud today, but that could change soon because new projects are being announced on a daily basis throughout the country.
Officials at the Tampa International Airport placed approximately $906 million in construction projects on hold, but there’s little doubt that construction will begin again in the not too distant future. Air travel is down more than 95 percent, and urgency for planned expansions and upgrades is not as great.
Many colleges and universities also have delayed projects. In fact, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) put a two-year halt on construction planned for this month. A $155 million football facility near Memorial Stadium is delayed primarily because university officials anticipate a $50 million budget shortfall. There’s also uncertainty about when sports events can resume.
But, more positive news may definitely be found in almost every state in the U.S. Here are just a few examples of upcoming construction projects in America.
Louisiana
The Louisiana State Legislature has approved $529 million for construction on university campuses. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette plans to spend $187,700 to repair Fletcher Hall and $16.4 million to renovate Madison Hall. Northwestern State University will receive $37.4 million for construction related to Kyser Hall. Louisiana Tech University plans to spend $40.5 million for a number of campus improvements, and Louisiana State University (LSU) has $227.7 million for construction projects. Southern University in Baton Rouge has planned renovations and expansions for about $18.2 million.
North Carolina
Wake County has approved a $1.47 billion budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). It outlines construction projects at Wake Technical Community College that include new buildings on many campuses. One project outlined in the CIP is a new Emergency Operations Center, and other projects include a new Public Health Center, construction of training space at the Board of Elections Center, facility upgrades at Human Services Sunnybrook, a Facility Condition Assessment program, and vacant space build out for housing at Oak City Multi-Services Center.
Missouri
On June 2, North Kansas City Schools received approval for a $155 million zero-tax increase bond issue. Lee’s Summit voters also approved a new $224 million bond issue for various infrastructure projects in the R-7 School District. Some of the construction projects include a fourth middle school facility and renovations to the three existing middle school facilities. Voters approved a no-levy-increase bond question for $25 million for improvements to district facilities at Belton School District 124.
Wisconsin
The city of Sun Prairie has approved its 2021-2023 Capital Improvement Plan that includes many construction projects. The funding includes $7.4 million for phosphorous treatment and plant capacity upgrades at the Water Pollution Control Facility and $2.1 million for Sun Prairie Utility’s Business Park Substation expansion. Unfunded projects for 2021 include $3 million for a library expansion, a public works campus, and a Grans-Hepker intersection expansion. In 2022 the city will spend $7.4 million on street reconstruction. Another unfunded project for years 2022 and 2023 is a $5.7 million bathhouse renovation.
New Jersey
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the South Jersey Transportation Authority approved a toll increase to fund approximately $25 billion in construction over 10 years. Projects include the widening of 15 different sections of a turnpike, the replacement of a bridge between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and upgrades to roadway tolling stations. The plan also calls for widening of a 13-mile section of the Expressway, construction of a direct connector to the Atlantic City Airport and installation of cashless toll equipment.
The governor announced plans this week to develop an offshore wind port on an artificial island along the Delaware River, potentially giving the state a competitive edge in the race to attract offshore wind jobs and manufacturers. The project would be unlike anything yet proposed in the U.S. and its cost could be as high as $400 million. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority will lead development of the port with the hope of creating thousands of high paying jobs and establishing New Jersey as the national capital of ‘off shore wind’.
Texas
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Transportation Policy Board adopted a 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) that has numerous major construction projects. It includes $633 million for the I-35 Capital Express project which will be sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The TIP also outlines transportation plans from regional transportation entities including TxDOT-Austin District, Capital Metro, Capital Area Rural Transportation System, and other local sponsors that have federally funded or regionally significant projects. One project the board chose to maintain is construction of two lane frontage roads on U.S. Highway 183. That project is projected to cost approximately $75 million.
Other projects in the CAMPO plan are:
Slaughter Lane widening to six lanes from Brodie Lane to N. Mopac Expressway – $15.73 million;
William Cannon widening to four lanes from McKinney Falls Parkway to Running Water Drive – $14.69 million;
Braker Lane extension from Samsung Boulevard to Dawes Place – $14.05 million;
University Boulevard reconstruction and widening to four lanes from County Road 110 to A.W. Grimes Road – $7.88 million;
Gattis School Road Segment 6 widening to six lanes – $11.38 million;
RM 967 widening from Oak Forest Drive to FM 1626 – $5.32 million;
FM 621 widening from CR 266 to De Zavala Drive in Hays County – $5.1 million;
SH 180 left turn lane installation and elimination of shoulder gap – $2.05 million; and,
Hopkins Multi-use Bike-Pedestrian Facility construction – $2 million.
Construction, engineering, architectural, and design firms will, no doubt, find immediate opportunities to contract with public officials. Additionally, as Congress begins to take up the task of developing an infrastructure bill, it is clear that construction projects will be hailed as the fastest way to stimulate the nation’s economy – a goal that has bipartisan support in America.
Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.
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Article | July 3, 2020
The CARES ACT (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) passed by Congress created a sprawling, multi-faceted plan to combat COVID-19 and its debilitating effects on the U.S. economy. Signed into law in March, the $2 trillion relief package allocated funding for preserving jobs, backfilling government budgets, helping school districts, providing assistance for the unemployed and establishing grant programs for various industry sectors such as transportation and telecommunications.
There are murmurs of a second stimulus bill which could be debated as soon as July, with the president on July 2 expressing his support for one. But, billions of dollars remain in the CARES Act funding for numerous programs. Much of that funding has reached recipients already, and more should start flowing at any time. All parties and stakeholders are eager, of course, for the funding to reach governmental entities. CARES Act funding programs include the following examples.
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, program was established with approximately $13.2 billion. This funding is designated for public school districts through an application process that has oversight from each state’s centralized education agency. Texas school districts received $1.29 billion through the program, just behind the state of California, which received the highest allotment at $1.6 billion. Other states receiving a larger share of ESSER funding are New York ($1.03 billion), Florida ($770 million), Illinois ($569 million), and Georgia ($457 million).
The program requires that at least 90 percent of the grant funding must be awarded to schools that received Title I, Part A funding during the 2019-20 school year. That stipulation will result in only school systems with a high number of students from low-income families being eligible for the bulk of the revenue. Applications are to be submitted to the state education agency for review and approval. However, decisions about how the funding is used are to be made by local officials in the school districts.
Another part of the CARES Act provides billions more in funding for airports. The Airport Improvement Program (AIP) offers $10 billion in distributions through grants for capital projects. This revenue can also be used to fill funding gaps in fiscal year 2020 budgets, since airport systems throughout the nation sustained such heavy losses as a result of the pandemic. Previously, the grants required a local funding match, but the CARES Act increased the federal share to 100 percent.
The AIP program allocates $7.4 billion for commercial airports that serve more than 10,000 passengers annually. Another $2 billion is set aside for commercial airports and general aviation airports. Looking at the listed intended uses of these funds, it appears that many airports will have thousands of upcoming contracting opportunities. Millions will be spent on projects to extend and/or rehabilitate runways. Other airports plan to install new lighting, expand terminals, purchase additional safety equipment, reconfigure taxiways, conduct studies, and develop planning documents for future expansion.
Cities and counties are most eager to participate in the $5 billion in funding available for local government programs and projects through the Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, program. This funding is intended for local governmental officials to use for corridor redevelopment, economic development initiatives and other projects. Every state received funding and some of the larger allocations were designated for Texas ($63.4 million), California ($113 million), Florida ($63 million), and New York ($70.5 million).
The U.S. Economic Development Organization continues to accept applications for projects that reinvigorate regional economic recovery, with $1.5 billion earmarked in the CARES Act for the Economic Adjustment Assistance Program. Through grants for projects that “leverage existing regional assets,” this program is designed to support economic development within distressed communities. Funding is available to states, counties, universities, and regional planning organizations, as well as for public-private partnerships.
Examples of funding allocated through the program include the award of a $400,000 in grant to the Kennebac Valley Council of Governments in Maine to update its economic development plans and provide COVID-19 services. In Texas, the Concho Valley Council of Governments in San Angelo received a $2.2 million grant to purchase a building for its regional headquarters.
The city of Odessa is using $927,708 in CDBG grant money for several social services programs and to supplement local nonprofits’ efforts during the pandemic. And the city of Lewisville recently received $5.8 million in CARES Act money, which includes $452,305 in CDBG grants.
The Federal Transit Administration is distributing $25 billion with approximately $22.7 billion earmarked for large and small urban areas and $2.2 billion set aside for rural areas. This funding does not require a local match of any kind, and it can be used for capital projects and for operations and/or planning purposes, as long as those activities relate in some way to COVID-19.
Transit agencies in urban areas with a population over one million --- such as Cap Metro, which received $104 million --- are getting $17.5 billion through the FTA. Transit agencies serving areas with populations fewer than one million --- such as Brownsville, Texas, which is receiving $7.6 million --- are getting $5.1 billion.
In the middle of the current, historic pandemic, the economy will significantly be stimulated by projects and initiatives that result from this funding. Public-private collaboration will not only create jobs and generate additional revenue flow, it will result in getting Americans working together again … and that will serve the country well.
Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.
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