Amidst the hand wringing there is much activity the elimination of boards and agencies and the combining of others. There are also employee buyouts for early retirement, furloughs of state employees and the sale of state surplus property: real estate and automobiles. The elimination and deep cuts in services: for children, health care and education are gut wrenching for state legislatures. There is a renewed search for the essential core of services which the government must (or can) provide. And after 2010 there is 2011 the year when conditions are supposed to start getting better.

The reality of these efforts may not be as desired for example the process for “the elimination of boards and agencies and the combining of others” eliminates some public services. But unless there is a significant reduction in personnel why bother just moving personnel from one office to another increases rather than decreases costs. Buyouts for early retirements may help this year but these positions will be replaced by new hires when times are better costing the state more.

Now is the time to start thinking positive about new solutions to government. The biggest obstacle is the common belief in government that anything you do must be funded and since there are no funds reforms cannot be made. And that funds spent on reforms could be better spent on essential services. But the reality is that the investment in some reforms can save the state $millions and while continuing or improving state services.

Consider this reform for managing the hundred or so agencies, boards and commissions in state government. Currently most state Online Agency Directories aid the public in finding the particular organization they are looking for to provide a specific service such as: answering a question, making a request or filling out an application. But with this new reform all public queries can be handled through a centralized state 311 telephone number. The 24 hour State Services Call Center can provide almost instant service to the public. This portal eliminates the need for the public to search for a specific government organization. This allows for the complete reorganization of the states services system. No longer requiring public interface, commissions and agencies can be consolidated into a much more responsive and efficient organizations resulting in the elimination of many management and public interface employee positions.

Consider this example from the state of Connecticut’s website with a clickable list of 115 Boards, Commissions, Departments and Offices including the Governor’s.

All Agencies and Offices in Connecticut State Government are listed alphabetically below with hyperlinks to available websites. You may also use the State Government Telephone Directory for information on how to contact any of these agencies and offices.

• 1. Accountancy, State Board of
• 2. Administrative Services, Department of
• 3. African-American Affairs Commission
• 4. Aging, Connecticut Commission on
• 5. Agricultural Experiment Station, Connecticut
• 6. Agriculture, Department of
• 7. Attorney General, Office of the State
• 8. Auditors of Public Accounts
• 9. Banking, Department of
• 10. Blind, Board of Education and Services for the
• 11. BlUe Ribbon Commission on Housing and Economic Development
• 12. Business Advocate, Office of the
• 13. Capitol Child Development Center
• 14. Charter Oak College
• 15. Chief State’s Attorney, Office of the
• 16. Child Advocate, Office of the
• 17. Children and Families, Department of
• 18. Children, Commission on
• 19. Children’s Trust Fund
• 20. Claims Commissioner, Office of the
• 21. Comptroller, Office of the State
• 22. Commission on Child Protection
• 23. Commission on Fire Prevention and Control
• 24. Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired (CDHI)
• 25. Commission for Educational Technology
• 26. Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism
•
• 105. Tax Department (Revenue Services)
• 106. Teachers’ Retirement Board
• 107. Transportation, Department of
• 108. Treasurer, Office of the State
• 109. University of Connecticut
• 110. University of Connecticut Health Center
• 111. Veterans Affairs, Department of
• 112. Victim Advocate, Office of the
• 113. Water Status, State of Connecticut
• 114. Women, Permanent Commission on the Status of
• 115. Workers’ Compensation Commission

My Revised 311 Portal to Connecticut Agencies Departments and Offices

There is no right way or wrong way of combining different parts of this list but there probably is a better way. I first numbered each of the 115 items to make sure that none were overlooked. I made no attempt to eliminate a board or an Agency only to provide a logical pathway for the Telephone Answerers to get to each of the 115 items Through 3 gateways: State Offices, State Departments and Other State services. The system is called Customer Relations Management (CRM) and uses a similar call center to that of a 911 center. Each Telephone Answerer is trained in doing the current public services provided by the items found in either: State Offices, State Departments or Other State Services. This means that there must be at least three or more trained personnel on duty at all times.

So where is the savings? In each of the 115 offices there must be at least two personnel taking public phone calls. That amounts to 230 personnel answering the phones during working hours compared with as few as 24 (my example estimate) manning the phones 24/7. Note that this is more than a telephone answering service the business of the state is conducted by the CRM. When you combine these savings with the elimination of some departments and agencies significant savings can be achieved. The main reason for the listing of the 115 offices is so that the public can find the state service that they want.

A call is directed to the individual with knowledge in one of the following three areas. That individual is assisted by a frequently asked Question (FAQ) database developed for each office in the selected area. See my Articles 101. and 102.

State Offices:
7. Attorney General
Law: 6. 15. 20. 41. 42. 43. 51. 57.
58. Fiscal Analysis
108. Treasurer: 1.
107. Transportation

State Departments:
2. Administrative Services:
3. Agriculture: 5.
9. Banking
50. Education: 25. 27. 30. 38. 106. 109. 110.
52. Emergency Management and Homeland Security: 23.
68. Insurance: 104. 115.
92. Public Health: 4. 24. 28. 29. 44. 110. 113.
93. Public Safety
94. Public Utility Control
95. Public Works
100. Social Services
Children Services: 13. 14. 16. 17. 18. 19. 22. 46. 47. 48.
Disabilities: 48. 47. 46.
82. Motor Vehicles
103. State Contracting Services
97. Revenue: 34. 102.

Other State Services:
Economics: 11. 26. 33. 39. 40. 45. 49. 129.
Environment: 32. 36. 50. 53. 54.
Military: 35. 81. 83. 101. 111.
Women and Minorities: 3. 96. 114.

Note that there are 10 children service offices These should probably be combined into one office. Now this is important, all the functions and the processes to do each function should be identified and Work Measurement should be used to determine the proper staffing base for all of the above offices including the Children Service Department. See my Articles 103 and 106.