Facilities Custodial ITN Wins Florida TaxWatch Government Productivity Award

Date - September 3rd 2026 

Facilities Custodial ITN Wins Florida TaxWatch Government Productivity Award 

The Florida TaxWatch Government Productivity Awards are an annual celebration of state employees who improve service delivery while saving Florida taxpayers money through innovation, efficiency, and significant cost savings. For the 2026 awards cycle, FSU Facilities, along with colleagues from Procurement, University Business Administrators, and the Research Foundation, was recognized with a Government Productivity Award for their project, Beyond the Bid: Transforming Custodial Solutions for FSU's Off-Campus Facilities.   

TaxWatch President & CEO Jeff Kottkamp, UBA/Facilities - Assistant Director of Budget & Financial Services Rick Bessey, Procurement - Strategic Manager Angelena Turvaville, Facilities - Assistant Director of Custodial Services Marcus Dupree, Facilities – Associate Director of Custodial Services, Lashea Alexander, Facilities – Director of Facilities Services Daniel Sheets, Procurement - Chief Procurement Officer Rosey Murton, FSU Research Foundation Building Manager Laurie Whetstone, and Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins.
TaxWatch President & CEO Jeff Kottkamp, UBA/Facilities - Assistant Director of Budget & Financial Services Rick Bessey, Procurement - Strategic Manager Angelena Turvaville, Facilities - Assistant Director of Custodial Services Marcus Dupree, Facilities – Associate Director of Custodial Services, Lashea Alexander, Facilities – Director of Facilities Services Daniel Sheets, Procurement - Chief Procurement Officer Rosey Murton, FSU Research Foundation Building Manager Laurie Whetstone, and Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins. 

The winning submission highlighted a recent Custodial ITN for 33 off-campus custodial buildings with specialized functions, including laboratories, medical offices, studio and production facilities, and other unique spaces that require customized cleaning schedules, staffing levels, security considerations, and specialized services that complement, rather than duplicate, the Main Campus custodial program, addressing operational challenges that cannot be solved through existing campus contracts.  

 

"We are honored to receive this TaxWatch Productivity Award, which highlights our team's dedication to efficiency and responsible stewardship of university resources," said Zach Newswanger, associate vice president for Facilities and chief facilities officer. "By rethinking how we support our off-campus facilities, we created a model that delivers millions in long-term savings while ensuring our faculty, researchers and students have the world-class environments they need to succeed."  

 

A key hallmark of the Government Productivity Awards is cost savings and replicability. This contract is expected to save $485,000 annually for the first five years across Facilities Educational & General (E&G), other E&G-funded departments, and auxiliary units. Over nine years, the University could save up to $3.6 million while still providing high-quality cleaning services for our customers. Other teams or organizations may replicate this when looking for alternative solutions to a traditional custodial procurement model for more remote, standalone campus buildings as the University's services and activities continue to broaden.   

 

The project team joined fellow honorees from a range of state agencies and universities, as well as state government dignitaries, including Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at Florida's Historic Capitol Museum to celebrate the 2026 Government Productivity Awards. The Facilities team and partners were honored to be recognized for innovation and excellence in state government. For more information on FSU's TaxWatch achievements, visit FSU News.