NOTE: Editorial from American Press June 10, 2003

Tech guru boasts $5.5 million savings

It should have been a no-brainer - use the competitive bidding process to buy new computer equipment for state agencies.  A no-brainer.  Real people use the concept every day.  Find out how much something will cost before you buy, and then buy the best deal for the money.  You'd have thought the state would have done it before, but it was not until 2001 that the Legislature passed a law that created a state chief information officer.

Chad McGee was the first appointed to the tech guru job, and he's held the post since then.  He said that new computer contracts have, so far, saved state government about $5.5 million.  Where before there was no oversight on computer-related purchases and "every agency was going out on their own, making their own deals," McGee hopes to save even more.  He says a recent agreement reached by Dell and IBM will give the state a 20 percent discount on desktop and laptop computers during the next seven months.  It could save the state another $6 million.  It's sort of like buying eight rolls of paper towels for $5 instead of buying one roll eight times at $1.50 a pop.  Eventually the savings adds up.  But nearly $12 million in savings in just two years?

Louisiana residents have heard those claims before, and later learned it was just another state budget shell game: Take money out of the front door, tell taxpayers they are getting a meaner, leaner state agency and - when no one's looking - funnel the "savings" in the back door and hope taxpayers don't find out.  What makes McGee's claim different?  The state's chief technology official, McGee, says most of the savings come from mostly just common sense.  Can we believe him?  He has a plan to have all 30,000 of the state's computer monitors turned off at night.  The cumulative effect could result in significant savings over the course of a year, McGee said.

It's refreshing to find someone in state government who remembers three simple "mama said" rules:  Buying in bulk can save you money; a penny saved is a penny earned; and - when you leave a room - turn out the lights.  If we didn't know better, we'd think McGee was in private business or trying to balance a family budget.