So what we're trying to show them is here's the ways we're saving money.
NASHVILLE -- Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said Monday that critics are drawing the wrong conclusion from his administration's ongoing efforts to save money and that he's "not trying to outsource the entire state."
"It's like I said, not even close to realistic," Haslam said. "Are there things we're always going to look at that say is the state doing this now and are we the best people to be doing that? Sure, we're always going to do that. And that's something we should be doing."
The governor's comments came after a Times Free Press story on Sunday showing Haslam and other officials included controversial plans for additional outsourcing, which would include most state building operations and maintenance functions to private companies, in the state's presentation this month to Wall Street credit-rating agencies.
Haslam has come under criticism for considering yet more outsourcing of state building management and operations that could include public colleges and universities as well as prisons, state parks and other facilities. In 2013, the state outsourced operations of nearly three dozen buildings.
Following his address Monday to the National Association of State Treasurers' conference in Nashville, the governor said his administration has made no final decision on the additional outsourcing. But he defended the proposal's inclusion.
"First of all," Haslam said, "remember, we're already doing some of that. So what we're trying to show them is here's the ways we're saving money.
Tennessee created a slideshow for a bond presentation in which it said that it would reduce costs in facilities management outsourcing, but Gov. Bill Haslam later walked back the verbiage, saying that it was a list of "potential things that can happen.""No. 2," Haslam continued, "the question that always comes from [credit rating agencies], is, OK, we see governments that have made cuts and adjustments."
He noted "everyone knows we're not going to raise taxes. And Medicaid and education costs keep going up - so they realize to make that work we have to keep making cuts, and their question always is 'what other things can you do?'"
So the state simply showed the agencies "kind of a list of potential things that can happen in the state where we can keep making adjustments to where we can keep making it work," Haslam added.
Last month, Nashville's WTVF-TV reported an administration timetable citing a July 1 date for the additional facility management outsourcing. The administration says that was overly ambitious and the state is still examining whether it makes sense.
The Tennessee chapter of United Campus Workers and the Tennessee State Employees Association have criticized the effort. A number of Democratic legislators, although not all, are objecting. And some Republican majority lawmakers are skeptical.
Tennessee's presentation to New York bond-rating agencies on Oct. 9-10 included a one-page section titled "Running the State Like a Business."
It had a provision citing "Better managing state real estate; reducing energy costs and consumption," an apparent reference to the 2013 round of outsourcing of nearly 30 state office buildings to Chicago-based real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle.
A second one-page section of the state's presentation was titled "Looking Ahead." Among other things, the section stated "we will implement enterprise-wide initiatives to reduce costs and improve productivity."
It then listed "facilities management outsourcing" and "energy saving measures."
Reminded that the presentation specifically says the state "will" move to the additional outsourcing, Haslam said, "From the very beginning on all this people have thought, 'Oh, they're going to outsource the entire state.' And a lot of media people have written a whole lot saying Tennessee is going to put the whole state up for sale, which is so far from true."
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at 615-255-0550 or asher@timesfreepress.com.