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375th CONS, CPTS Airmen team up for fiscal year closeout

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Melissa Estevez
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  

Thanks to the efforts of the wing’s contracting and comptroller squadrons, who worked around the clock to ensure a successful 2016 End of Year closeout, Team Scott came away with some much-needed projects.

Some of the major projects include audio/visual system upgrades for conference rooms such as the Global Reach Planning Center, furniture upgrades and reconfigurations, facility renovations and upgrades such as roof repairs, carpeting and painting projects. In addition, quality of life enhancements will be on the way such as a new liner and rock climbing wall for the Fitness Center pool. Team Scott is already seeing the results from a project secured to reseal and restripe the parking lot areas near the Commissary and Education Center.

“I can’t say enough about how impressed I am with our team each and every day. All of our ‘Big A’ Airmen, military and civilian members have stepped up to meet this annual challenge,” said Lt. Col Annette Harvey, 375th Contracting Squadron commander. “The attitudes and work ethic have been exemplary and mission/customer-focused.”

The 375th CONS is responsible for services relating to the procurement of administrative equipment, supplies, services, and construction for the base. They issue, negotiate and award contracts for the wing and Scott’s mission partners.

“Our team enables the base to do basic services such as cut the grass, clean buildings, haul trash and operate our dining facilities,” said Harvey. “We also affect our infrastructure and cyber upgrades, airfield operations and force protection measures just to name a few.”

She said extensive time is spent with mission partners to forecast, conduct market research, and develop acquisition packages for year-end execution. Planning typically starts in March of every year to posture for funding priorities going into fiscal year end. The amount of time spent on any particular purchase requirement depends on dollar value and complexity, so it can take anywhere from a few hours up to 180 days or more.

“We work closely with finance to ensure all distributed funding is a recorded obligation as a contract action by midnight Sept. 30,” said Harvey. “If a requirement comes in under budget, we let them know immediately in case the funds need to be directed to another project, so it’s truly a team effort with the Unit Resource Advisors and the 375th Comptroller Squadron.”

Partnered with the 375th CONS, is the 375th Comptroller Squadron, which provides financial services and support to the wing.

They certify availability of funds for all funding documents and manage the Government Purchase Card program. They also formulate and execute the wing’s fiscal year budget to best meet the wing’s overall requirements and serve as the audit focal point for the wing.

Lt. Col. Michael Bryant, 375th CPTS commander, said “Without us there would be no funding to buy fuel for aircraft and vehicles, supplies for facility maintenance, and communications equipment to name a few … basically, the mission would stop. However, it’s a team effort, and we rely on our partners throughout the wing. We view ourselves as a ‘force multiplier’ and a cog in the wheel of Team Scott.”

The EOY fiscal close out is always a flurry of activity just because of how the budgeting system works. Harvey explained that the workflow for them steadily picks up in the FY fourth quarter as more funding is released, but that they prepare for those months in advance with early planning, establishing cut-off dates and assisting mission partners with fiscal year-end spend plans.

“While we may not be awarding large numbers of contracts in the first three quarters, we are working hard to administer the open contracts,” said Harvey. “We are responsible for the entire acquisition cycle that ranges from procurement planning to contract award and then through delivery, vendor payment, and final closeout of the requirement.”

In addition, they were busy working Fiscal Year 2017 contracts and options for funding and execution on Oct. 1 to ensure there was no disruption of services. Their two-person GPC team also worked diligently behind the scenes to support over 600 cardholders across base who were making unit level purchases.