People > Michael P. Barton > Additional Info: Michael Barton
Additional Info: Michael Barton
Mr. Barton has done work for most major government agencies, including Executive Offices, Administrative Services, Budget, Health & Human Services, Social Services, Information Technology, Motor Vehicle and Transportation Departments, Public Safety/Dept’s of Correction, Revenue Services, and State Universities. He has been a key figure in some of the largest and most complex procurements undertaken by Connecticut and other governments, including the first attempt to privatize a state lottery, the largest “whole-of government” IT outsourcing attempt in U.S. history (state of Connecticut), the first successful “whole-of government” IT outsourcing in the U.S. (San Diego County), the development of an integrated tax administration system for the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, and a significant transportation infrastructure public-private partnership.The following is a brief overview of the above referenced projects. In 1995, the Connecticut Legislature decided to raise some money by selling off 25% of the Lottery. Mr. Barton, under contract to the Secretary of OPM, was brought in to assist the state in all steps of the project as well as to help coordinate the outside financial and accounting consultants. The deal was a $1 billion dollar deal and the teams final report to the Governor was to not sell a piece of this strategic asset (in spite of over ten international organizations each prepared to pay $! billion for a quarter share of the lottery), but rather to convert it to a quasi-government agency with less legislative oversight.
To date, Mr. Barton’s largest and most complex project – at all stages of the deal – was the Connecticut effort to outsource all of its information technology services. He was brought in at the initial stage of developing strategy and determining feasibility, and was engaged until the Governor’s decision to pull the project four years later. The scope of his work included assisting the State in development of strategy, creation of a new single technology authority, DOIT, and the accompanying legislation, development of the RFP (and associated documents and processes), the evaluation process and procedures, the contract negotiation process and of an entity to oversee and manage the final contract. He also coordinated and managed all outside and internal resources, as well as developed and managed the federal contract approval process.
In 1999, Mr. Barton consulted with the County of San Diego as they attempted to fast track a similar outsourcing deal. After the Connecticut deal ended, Mr. Barton engaged (primary role was to manage the federal approval process) with San Diego and was a member of the team that successfully completed the first whole-of-government IT outsourcing in this country.
In August of 2000, Mr. Barton engaged with the Department of Revenue services to help with a troubled project – development of an integrated tax administration system (ITAS) – a project that had been wrought with problems for nearly a decade. His role was to assemble a team, coordinate internal and external resources, act as a liaison between DOIT and DRS, re-write an RFP that had been worked on for 11 months, develop an evaluation process, and help negotiate a deal. It was on this deal, in which he and Mr. Mednick worked together, that the two also helped the State develop an automated evaluation tool for use in complex transactions.
In November 2007 Barton took the lead on a significant infrastructure project to guide the CT Department of Transportation towards a solution that would renovate, rebuild, operate and maintain the State's aged and deteriorating commercial service plaza system. Furthermore, it was clear that with a nearly-depleted transportation fund and a deteriorating State budget, the State would need to seek private investment in order for a true transformation of these properties to occur. Rather than the past model of juggling multiple contracts, it would make better business sense if the State were to contract with a single entity, a "Prime Contractor," who would be responsible for everything: including design, reconstruction, operation and maintenance. Involved from conception through creation of proposal request documents, the evaluation process and negotiation of the agreement, Barton helped lead the agency toward assuring that the State’s needs to serve the traveling public were met, yet with an understanding that the Prime Contractor had to believe there would be an opportunity to receive a reasonable return on its investment. The State had to balance the risk it was not going to be taking, and the capitol it would not be expending, against its expectations of revenue. In the end we negotiated a thirty-five year agreement involving an initial private investment of approximately $178 million and requirements for substantial additional reinvestment during the term. The State has oversight and management responsibility over one entity; private capital is put at risk and will presumably be spent more efficiently than government dollars typically are; the Prime Contractor has the opportunity to earn a fair or better return on its investment, if it makes the right decisions; the State will have modern, safe, functional facilities and will be paid an increasing stream of revenue; the traveling public will have more and better food and other retail service choices, and safer, cleaner facilities to use as they travel on Connecticut's roadways.