Press Release- May 02, 2007
OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2007
Contact:
Evan Dreyer, 720.350.8370
GOV. RITTER LAUNCHES GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND MANAGEMENT (GEM) PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Gov. Bill Ritter today launched the innovative Government Efficiency and Management (GEM) performance review, a top-to-bottom examination of how state government can more efficiently and cost-effectively deliver services to the people of Colorado.
"The GEM review is not a line-item budget-cutting exercise," Gov. Ritter said. "GEM is a bottom-up review that will result in long-term savings so that we can be as fiscally conservative with taxpayer dollars as possible.
"GEM is about improving quality, streamlining services and eliminating redundant programs. It's about finding new, innovative and smarter ways of delivering essential service so that we are more efficient and effective in how we manage state government.
"It's about making sure the people of Colorado have an efficient government that serves them, not a government that serves itself," the governor added.
The GEM review will be led by public policy experts at Public Works LLC along with a team of 20 state employees. A final report with recommendations is due by Feb. 29, 2008, although some ideas may be presented earlier for incorporation into the FY08-09 budget. Other states, such as New Mexico, Texas and West Virginia have undergone similar performance reviews and found savings of 2 percent to 7 percent while improving the delivery of service.
GEM will include reviews of state-government-wide performance and revenue collections; training so that performance reviews will be on-going; and tracking and analysis so that savings can be measured over time.
Every member of the public and every state employee will be invited to participate and offer efficiency suggestions. An e-mail address, website and toll-free phone number will be established to take ideas from the public and employees.
"Employees will be our partners," Gov. Ritter said. "Front-line employees understand better than anyone how government works, and how it can work better. We need their good ideas, and then we need to make sure those ideas see the light of day and get put into action."