CL-745: Contract Renewal Status

To All State Agencies and Others Authorized to Use State Contracts:

The IT Services backdrop contract has been extended for one additional year, from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011, under the same terms, conditions and pricing. As part of this extension, the Procurement Services Group (PSG) is required to collect and process the legal paperwork necessary to renew each individual contract awarded under the master backdrop contract. PSG continues to process these contract renewals. Following is a summary and update of that effort.

The original renewal requests were sent via email on August 16, 2010 to all 773 active contractors at the email addresses provided by the contractors, with a firm due date of December 3, 2010. PSG followed up on all failed delivery messages by phone, fax or letter. (Please note that it is important for contractors to keep their contact information current). On October 5, 2010 and again on November 2, 2010 reminders were sent to those companies that had not submitted renewal documents.

On December 31, 2010, a notification was sent to all contractors that did not respond to the renewal, that their contracts had expired. Additionally on December 31, 2010, a notification was sent to all contractors whose renewal was not complete, that their contracts would be inactive until all necessary paperwork was filed and the review and approval process was complete.

Current Status as of January 13, 2011:

• 324 individual contracts renewals are approved and active
• 130 individual contract renewals are in the final stages of preparation to be submitted to the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) for review and approval
• 75 individual contract renewals are being prepared for OSC submission
• 140 individual contract renewals are awaiting information from contractors and/or under review

Each extension requires a full Vendor Responsibility review which includes verification of active Worker’s Compensation and Disability Insurance. PSG has completed reviews of all renewals received, and we have contacted those companies missing the proper information necessary to advance the renewal to OSC. By law, OSC is allowed up to 90 days to review and approve contracts, including contract renewals. OSC has been very responsive in expediting review of these renewals by dedicating staff to audit and approve the renewals as they are received. As a reminder, contracts remain in a “restricted period” until approved by the Office of the State Comptroller.

Note to Companies:

If your company has received a request for additional information from the IT Services team, please provide this information to them as soon as possible. PSG is unable to process renewal packages that are incomplete. If your company has submitted all required paperwork, but has not yet received an approval, we wish to assure you we are taking extreme efforts to process in our office no later than January 25, 2011 so they may be submitted to OSC for final review and approval.

Note to Agencies:

For those agencies who are in the process of conducting mini-bids and are able to delay the mini-bid, there will be more contractors on contract, potentially on a daily basis. PSG also recommends that you include language in the mini-bid that indicates an active contract prior to mini-bid submission due date will allow contractor to submit a proposal for that mini-bid. In addition, to ensure capturing all active contractors at time of mini-bid release, PSG recommends agencies wait until a solicitation is ready for release before downloading a mailing address.

We appreciate your patience during this process. If you have any questions regarding this renewal, please contact Patricia Weidman (contact information above) or one of the designated contacts listed on the IT Services web page.