HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville closed out the fiscal year in record time, ensuring America’s warfighters and other federal agencies get the support they need to continue their missions.
At around 7 p.m. Sept. 30, the Center completed its last contract action. By 11 p.m., the Center’s Resource Management (RM) Directorate fiscally cleared all programs and was able to run the shutdown of Fiscal Year 23.
In an email to the workforce, Albert “Chip” Marin III, Huntsville Center programs and business manager, gave kudos as the Center competed 3680 contract actions and obligated a total of $2.421 billion
He explained that this Fiscal Year was the earliest Center completed its contract actions and the earliest total completion in the Center’s history,
However, the end-of-fiscal-year push didn’t come without hiccups as IT problems delayed the closeout process with server issues. Employees couldn’t access modules to clear year-end reports. With IT technicians working diligently to fix the server problem, employees received word that the issues had been resolved and the final push to the finish line was on.
As the last hours of the fiscal year ticked away, messages to the workforce kept them updated.
Cynthia W. Blackmon, RM Finance and Accounting Division chief sent a Center-wide email explaining that until the IT problem was resolved, no one will be able to access clear Year-End reports.
“We understand your frustration and are awaiting updates from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Finance Center,” Blackmon wrote in an email to Center employees.
At round 5:21 p.m. Sept. 30, Nathaniel Seo, team lead accountant for RM’s accounting operations team, sent a simple four-word email to the Center’s employees.
“This is now resolved,” Seo wrote.
The Center’s the Installation Support and Programs Management Directorate accounted for 88% of the total obligations for the entire Center. Of the six divisions within ISPM, the largest amount obligated was executed by the Operational Technology Division with $574 million via 650 contract actions, although ISPM’s Medical Division was a close second with 626 contract actions valued at $507.5 million.
Obligations by executing directorates for Fiscal 2023 were $2.1 billion for ISPM; $197 million for the Ordnance and Explosives Directorate; $56.6 million for the Engineering Directorate and $28 million for the Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise.
Of the money obligated, the Center exceeded its goals for awarding direct awards to small businesses contracts beating the Center’s historical high of $825 million by almost $100 million.
Of the more than $1.9 billion awards eligible to small business, the Center’s obligations exceeded set goals by 6% awarding more than $900 million to small business. The Center also exceeded goals set for disadvantaged small business by 1.1% awarding more than $495 million and 3.2% to women owned small business with more than $200 million awarded.
In an email to the workforce, Rebecca Goodsell, Huntsville Center’s Office of Small Business Programs chief hailed the Center’s commitment to awarding small business, which she says is the “lifeblood of the American economy.”
“You are the very best in USACE and the entire small business team and I can’t thank each and every one of you enough for all you’ve done to support small businesses,” Goodsell wrote.