Auditor general faults Pa. technology contracts
HARRISBURG - A state audit of hundreds of millions of dollars in government technology contracts concluded there was poor record keeping, insufficient central oversight, and an increased potential for a conflict of interest when it came time to pick the winning bids.
The report released yesterday on the state government's dealing with Deloitte Consulting L.L.P. shows that one state agency should coordinate all contract awards and the legislature ought to consider new laws to "tighten up and centralize" the bidding process, Auditor General Jack Wagner said.
Wagner, a probable Democratic candidate for governor next year, said the state paid the firm $592 million for computer services over four years, and at the same time gave it $2.25 million in economic-development grants. The administration used change orders, sole-source contracts, and emergency contracts to swell the amount of business with Deloitte from the initial amount of the contracts, $382 million.
A spokesman said Gov. Rendell's campaigns collected $15,000 from Deloitte's political-action committee and $19,000 from people who work for the company since 2001. Rendell defended no-bid contracts, saying they can reward good performance. Deloitte's Timothy A. Wiest said the state has reaped millions of dollars in savings through its Deloitte contracts. - AP
