Florida TaxWatch, the highly respected, non-partisan think tank that points the way toward fiscal responsibility in the Sunshine State, just released a report showing how to trim $3.2 billion from the state budget, thus bringing it into balance.
The report contains 88 recommendations lawmakers might follow to close the gaping hole in the coming year's accounts. Number 1 on the list? Reduce the number of goods and services exempt from competitive bidding requirements. Closing these loopholes could save the state upwards of $125 million per year, TaxWatch reports. The study notes that similar reforms on the federal level, put into effect last year, are expected to save U.S. taxpayers $40 billion a year.
The principle at work here is simple enough. Competition tends to drive down prices.
But don't tell that to the three members of the Live Oak City Council who voted Tuesday to renew OMI's $2 million-plus public works contract without giving anyone else a chance to even make an offer.
Yes, OMI did cut its margins 9 percent, though it's not yet clear what that will mean to the bottom line. How much more might we have saved had OMI faced the pressure of blind competitive bidding?
We'll never know, thanks to councilmen Mark Stewart, Ed Rewis and David Burch, whose insistence on awarding OMI this lucrative pact was unwavering.
You've heard all the arguments before, folks. We've talked about this issue until we're blue in the face. Now it's time for the voters to have their say. See you at the polls, fellas.
