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VIDEO: Denish unveils state contract database
Diane Denish
‘This online database marks a new day for openness and transparency in New Mexico,’ Denish said
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish gave reporters a preview today of a new online database Web site that will allow the public to view any state contract valued at $20,000 or more.
The new Web site — http://contracts.gsd.state.nm.us — will officially go live on New Year’s Day.
“Now every citizen in our state will have access at their fingertips to see how the state is spending large sums of money through contracts,” Denish said. “This is an important start towards creating the transparent government New Mexicans deserve, but I will not stop until we have a full sunshine portal that puts the state’s entire checkbook online for the public to see.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4xUbpwzV5Y[/youtube]
The Web site is the result of a HB 546, which was approved by the Legislature earlier this year in Santa Fe with broad bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. Bill Richardson.
In July, when Denish announced her ethics reform proposals, she indicated that she wants the state’s entire checkbook put online for the public to access. Today, said she’ll continue to fight for the “sunshine portal” to be passed into law when the Legislature meets in January.
St. Cyr is a contributing writer for this site and a reporter at 770KKOB.com. He can be reached at peter.stcyr@gmail.com.
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The web site is a start in that you can see who is getting paid 16 months after the fact with rarely an explanation of why … so not a very good one start. The devil is always in the details. POST THE CONTRACTS and do it within a week of signing – scan them, post them, key word search them. Come on ….
With respect to the Rail Runner … The feds posted the contract for BNSF and the State YEARS AGO – why can’t the State post it? The deal was ‘sold’ to the legislature as eliminating the need for highway construction, principally between ABQ and Santa Flush, removing up to 4000 cars a day and the operational costs would be paid for by a combination of rider fees and a new gross receipts tax within the yet to be created transportation district. Wishful thinking …. most of 2009 was spent adding a 3rd lane to I 25 north of ABQ, up toward Bernalillo (so we’re adding additional road capacity) to handle the ~25K cars per day (and growing) that make that trek (the train is a pimple on that wart) and the gross receipts tax is meeting about 40% of its anticipated funding level … so … it was a pig in a poke because the legislature didn’t get to the see the contract either! BNSF does all maintenance … they get to decide what the maintenance is, when it gets done and how much it costs – WE pay the bill … we had to upgrade the track to passenger standards and BNSF gets first priority on the use of that track so there are inherent limits on our utilization of our own property … we pay for new control systems … we get to bury the dead who have been killed at crossings … we inherit the risk of the environmental hazards along the tracks …. our communities that received property tax from the BNSF no longer get those taxes because the rail is off the tax rolls and in public hands. Where is the transparency on this issue is a bit more than opaque.
The rail runner is a farsighted project that suggests that we are keeping up with first world nations.
I hope the data base contains truly useful information that will pressure the state agencies to hire competent best bid contracts. State agencies might try hiring some true talent for dignified wages to do some jobs as well.
As Denish says, “This is an important start.”
Actually, the Railrunner is serving an average of 5,000 people a day, according to Lawrence Rael, who was responsible for implementing the system. Think of it– something like 5,000 fewer cars on the road between Belen and Santa Fe. That means less pollution, less congestion on the highways, fewer road repairs needed. I hope the Railrunner is eventually extended to Las Cruces.
This is a good move, but it’s only a partial step. Getting a grip on spending is another. I still think the Rail Runner to Santa Fe was a huge waste of money and deprived the rest of the state of needed transportation funding. So seeing the RR contracts on line wouldn’t have met as much as not having contracts for the Rail Runner at all.