“We are working hard to implement the changes and reductions in the smartest possible way to ensure the least impact on both our civilian personnel and our contractor workforce,’’ Lieutenant General Charles R. Davis, commander of the Electronic Systems Center, told the Globe in response to questions about the plans.
In recent weeks, community leaders and members of Congress have expressed confidence that Hanscom’s role in developing high-tech weapons and communications systems would protect it from significant budget cuts, at least for the foreseeable future, as the military launches new cost-cutting measures.
But the intention to reduce the center’s budget to finance support services from private companies nestled around the Bedford base is sparking concerns about the future health of the small and medium-sized firms that rely heavily on the base for their business.
The planned cuts are outlined in an internal 40-page report prepared last month by the Electronic Systems Command, and in a separate eight-page briefing drafted in December describing a “burn-down plan of reducing [advisory and assistance services] spending by 74 percent’’ over the next four years. The documents were provided to the Globe by two Hanscom officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to make the information public.
The 74 percent cut in the contractor budget for “advisory and assistance services’’ will be made over the next four years, concluding in October 2016, according to the documents. The reductions will begin almost immediately, according to base spokesman Chuck Paone.
“We are looking at a 10 to 15 percent … budget reduction this year,’’ he said.
One of the largest portions of the contractor budget is for program oversight and management services. Under the new plan, that work will be cut from $869 million to $390 million over the next four years, the documents show.
