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Governor bans outsourcing of state-funded servicesAug 06, 2010 (The Columbus Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Gov. Ted Strickland issued an executive order today banning the outsourcing of services paid for with state dollars. The move was a response to the controversy that surfaced recently about call-center work from an $11 million appliance-rebate program funded by federal stimulus dollars being outsourced to El Salvador. "Ohio's policy has been and must continue to be that public funds should not be spent on services provided offshore," Strickland said in the order. In March, the Ohio Department of Development contracted with Texas-based Parago, Inc. to administer a program to provide rebates for the purchase of new energy-efficient appliances. But Parago reportedly used hundreds of workers in El Salvador to process applications and answer customers' calls. State officials said they were never told about the arrangement and never asked. Strickland said in a release that he asked Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel earlier this week "to further review the circumstances surrounding the award of the Parago contract including any potential legal recourse with the vendor." The governor said the state does have procedures in place to restrict the purchase of offshore services, but that that Parago incident "has caused me to redouble my commitment to ensure that public funds are not expended for offshore services." The order says no executive cabinet agency, board or commission shall enter into any contract that uses funds it controls to purchase outsourced services. The Department of Administrative Services, through the state's chief procurement officer, must have procedures in place by Aug. 31 to ensure compliance with the order. [email protected] To see more of The Columbus Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbusdispatch.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |