Gov. Walker: Making Government More Efficient

Every Thursday, Gov. Scott Walker delivers a weekly radio address. This Thursday's address was titled Making Government More Efficient.

The state has partnered with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association to produce and distribute brief radio address once a week.  Audio files and a written transcript of this radio address can be accessed on http://www.wi-broadcasters.org and http://walker.wi.gov/section.asp?linkid=1761&locid=177.  To download an mp3 file you can visit http://walker.wi.gov/section.asp?linkid=1761&locid=177, right click the radio address link and click “save link as.”

Here is the transcript from this Thursday’s radio address: 

Hi this is Scott Walker. 

On my second day in office, I created the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Commission. 
The commission was charged with looking at all of the things that can be done - big or small - to save taxpayers' money.  These seemingly little things can add up, saving state resources and restoring people’s trust in their government.

Today, I’d like to highlight one of the innovative ways hard-working state employees partnered with agency leadership to save taxpayer resources.  Earlier this year, employees at the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) aggressively pursued ideas to become more efficient, and told their agency leadership about their ideas.  The employees suggested holding virtual meetings, trimming the number of agency meetings, improving the structure of staffing, and reforming the way they reimburse for out of state travel. 

Based on these ideas, the agency took a number of steps to save taxpayer money.  They now utilize video conferencing in lieu of some of their in-person meetings, which has saved more than $17,000.  The agency also eliminated meetings of various state boards where there was little or even no business to discuss; this has saved the state more than $22,000. The agency also saved $17,000 by cancelling unneeded memberships and subscriptions.  Restructuring staff saved more than $31,000.  And the limitations placed on out of state travel has netted over $16,000 of savings. All told, the agency saved a total of $106,424.10 so far this year.  

While this may not seem like a huge amount of money when compared to the state budget, it is the kind of reform we need from everyone in state government. 

The employees of the Division of Board Services are showing we can do things differently to improve services and save money.

We are continuously looking for ways to make our government work better. And that's good news for everyone in Wisconsin.