IdahoReporter.com » Mike Gwartney

Judge throws out Syringa lawsuit over education broadband contract

Brad Iverson-Long — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:38:43 +0000

An Idaho district judge has thrown out a lawsuit from Syringa Networks over how Idaho’s Department of Adminsitration awarded the contract for the Idaho Education Network (IEN).

Syringa was shut out of IEN when the state awarded the contract to the telecommunications company Qwest and Education Networks of America (ENA), which had partnered with Syringa on a bid. Not getting that contract led to Syringa filing the lawsuit, and also affected the budgeting process for IEN and the Department of Administration during this year’s legislative session.

“By ruling in our favor, Judge Owen vindicated the integrity of our purchasing processes as well as the integrity of our employees,” said Department of Administration Director Mike Gwartney, who was one of the defendants named in the lawsuit. A Friday news release from the department said the court decision vindicates the department’s decision and its leadership, and that it allows the state to move forward with implementing IEN. At one point, lawmakers contemplated pushing the kill switch on IEN.

IEN is a program to expand high-speed Internet access in public schools and allow high school students to take a wider array of classes. Using IEN, students in one classroom could interact in real time with a teacher in another part of the state or the country teaching the class using video-conferencing software.

During the bidding process for the IEN contract, the partnered bid between Syringa and ENA scored higher than Qwest’s bid, according to documents filed in court. The Department of Administration awarded the contract to Qwest and ENA, but not Syringa, which would’ve offered broadband Internet services similar to Qwest.

Fourth District Judge Patrick Owen ruled Thursday that the state could legally split up the ENA/Syringa bid, and ruled summarily against Syringa’s claim of breach of contract against the Department of Administration. Judge Owen also ruled that Syringa should have gone through an administrative appeal before suing the state to stop the contract with Qwest.

Officials with Syringa could not be reached for comment regarding the decision.

The controversy surrounding IEN also includes the long-term funding for the program. Currently, a grant from the Albertsons Foundation, federal stimulus money, and competitive grants are paying for IEN’s expansion. Those sources of funding will run out within the next few years. IEN also gets some money from the federal E-rate program, which provides subsidies for schools for new technology.

The spending plan for IEN and the Department of Administration was one of the final pieces of the state budget approved by legislative budget writers. The Legislature also approved changing the makeup of a the panel that oversees IEN. That change gives lawmakers and the superintendent of public instruction more seats on the panel and limits the control of the Department of Administration.

Fund shift to balance budget will delay new repairs for state buildings

Brad Iverson-Long — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 03:22:00 +0000

The Idaho state government balanced its last budget by backfilling a revenue shortfall with $8.26 million from the state’s Permanent Building Fund. While that shift won’t lead to spending cuts for state services in the next year, it will push back some construction and renovation plans for state buildings across the state.

“What we’re going to do is delay the starting of a number of projects,” said Mike Gwartney, the head of the Department of Administration, which oversees the state’s public works projects. “ Everything we’ve started, we’re going to work through and complete. We’re not going to have half a building with a crane sitting there, like in Russia.”

The Permanent Building Fund gets money to build and repair state facilities from a share of several state taxes, including the income and sales tax, as well as taxes on beer and cigarettes. The largest portion of its budget in the coming year will be $17 million from the Idaho Lottery.

Idaho lawmakers set a $22.9 million budget for the building fund, though Gwartney said some projects stretch over several years and the state has hundreds of millions of dollars in improvement projects.

Gwartney didn’t specify how long delays would last or which projects would be delayed due to the $8.26 million shift, but it could include maintenance, repair, and construction projects approved by the governor and lawmakers. Those projects include demolishing three deteriorating 75-year-old buildings at State Hospital South in Blackfoot, adding a new maintenance shop at the Idaho Correctional Institution in Orofino, and some work at the Capitol Mall in Boise.

Even before the fund shift to balance the budget, there was a backlog of construction and repair projects. In its report to the governor and lawmakers, the Department of Administration identified potential projects that could cost $162 million.

Gwartney said that while there may be more delays, Idaho has priorities for what new projects to start. “Building safety is our number one priority,” he said.

Idaho looking to consolidation for savings

Brad Iverson-Long — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:29:52 +0000

The Idaho Department of Administration laid out some of the potential savings that could come from combining state jobs and services. The biggest price tag that could go down is on computer and information technology (IT) services. “Over the next several years, we could easily get $20 million out of that,” said Mike Gwartney, the director of administration. That annual savings will not show up in the next budget. Gwartney is proposing reducing four IT staff this year, which will save $229,000. He said he will look for consolidation in other areas going forward, saying, “We’re picking those off one at a time.”
Other savings identified come from centralizing the state’s vehicle fleet, which could save $4.5 million, and photocopying services, which could save $127,000. The department is also taking over Boise State University’s post office services, which should save $338,000. Gwartney said the state could also consolidate e-mail and telephone services, though he didn’t say how much savings the state would see. These savings from consolidation would only make up a portion of the budget reduction facing the state. The entire Idaho state general fund budget could see a decrease in the range of $100-300 million in the next fiscal year.
Only 15 percent of the Department of Administration’s $60 million budget comes from the state general fund. The majority of the department’s funding comes from the Permanent Building Fund, which goes to pay off bonds for state construction projects. About 20 percent of its budget comes from administrative and accounting services paid by other state agencies. The department is taking more than $200,000 in holdbacks in the current budget and faces a $400,000 reduction in the next budget. Like other state agencies, the department is using furloughs and a hiring freeze to meet their shrinking spending target, according to department chief financial officer Connie Smith.

Group plans prayer service for Capitol building

Dustin Hurst — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:08:16 +0000

The Interfaith Alliance of Idaho will perform a dedicatory prayer service in the Idaho State Capitol Building the same day the Idaho Capitol Commission will open the newly-renovated building back up to the public.

Jana Kemp, a member speaking on behalf of the group, confirmed to IdahoReporter.com the alliance applied for, and received, permission to hold the prayer service from the capitol’s facilities managers. Kemp also said twelve days after the meeting Commissioner Jeff Youtz contacted her about the event and said the commission would give the nod to the alliance for the prayer service. Though they have approved the event, the commission will not officially recognize the dedicatory prayer as part of the weekend’s activities.

Prior to the Idaho Capitol Commission’s December 16, the Interfaith Alliance of Idaho asked commission members for official recognition of a dedicatory prayer event for the new building. The alliance told the commission the prayer service would include pastors, rabbis, and priests of various denominations from around the Treasure Valley and proposed it to coincide with the commission’s planned events for the re-opening of the Capitol Building.

During the meeting, the commission discussed the prayer service, but decided to not officially recognize or sponsor the event as one of the activities for the grand re-opening. Commissioners invited a priest from a church in Boise to offer the invocation for the event and decided that will suffice as far as religious activities for the celebration.

At the meeting, commissioners were sure to note that the alliance would not be denied access to the Capitol at any point after the official grand re-opening, but they would not officially sanction the planned prayer service.

“If they want to shake their beads on Sunday in a formal way, than that’s okay,” said Commission Secretary Mike Gwartney, Director of the Department of Administration.

The requests to the commission were made by Kemp, who is a running as Independent candidate for Governor in 2010. Commissioners said they wanted to keep the focus on the building and not on politics.

“I do not want to turn it into a political event,” Said Commissioner Sandra Patano. “The people are coming to look at the building.”

Regardless of the reason for denial of recognition by the commission, alliance leaders say they will move forward with plans for the service because of the significance of the occasion.

“This is important and…we need to pray for good government and we need to pray for the building,” said Kemp in a telephone interview late.

Kemp said the dedicatory prayer service will be held in the Rotunda ground floor of the capitol at 2:00 pm on January 9^,which is an hour and a half after the official rededication service concludes. She also said the group could invite as many as 3,000 people, though not that many are expected to attend.