“According to the Department of Finance, it costs twice as much to outsource engineering work at Caltrans. Specifically, in the most recent budget, the Department of Finance concludes that a state engineer (including salary, benefits, overhead and equipment) costs the taxpayer $113,000 a year while an outsourced private engineer costs an average of $226,000 annually,” said Hanson. “Local agencies outsource almost all of their engineering services through no-bid contracts.”
