Prompted by an Executive Order signed by the governor in December but it's been a problem for the government even years before the COVID pandemic spread through Guam. We're talking about the movement to buy a new Government of 0Guam financial management system authorized by the governor under emergency procurement five months ago.

Tasked with leading the procurement of a new FMS is Department of Administration Director Edward Birn. The process has come under legislative scrutiny with senators concerned that we may be bypassing regular procurement laws to deal with a pre-existing problem and paying for it with federal relief money. According to Birn, however, the federal monies that Guam has been receiving to combat COVID have tripled the government's transactions further burdening the current system.

"We certainly don't want to lose control," he said. "So that's what made it an emergency is the system designed to handle one billion is now having to deal with $3 billion and it's just not working and it requires a lot of manual effort and intensive people intervention to make it work. We're not trying to get around any procurement regulations."

Birn said they are going through a request for quote process and are receiving guidance from the Office of the Attorney General.

DOA is hoping to acquire a new financial management system before the end of the fiscal year in September. It's not clear just how much a new system will cost, but they have set aside at least $8 million in American Rescue Plan funds. GovGuam's current financial management system is almost 20 years old.

Additionally, although procurement is usually handled by the General Service Agency, the governor in March signed an executive order stripping Chief Procurement Officer Claudia Acfalle's oversight of the procurement for a new financial management system, and instead tasking DOA to lead the process.