Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Governor Minner Announces Major Reorganization of State Government Agencies

Dover – Governor Ruth Ann Minner proposed a major state government reorganization Wednesday that will improve service to state agencies while saving the state hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The reorganization consolidates the Office of State Personnel and a large portion of the Department of Administrative Services with the Office of the Budget to form a new Office of Management and Budget. A residual portion of the Department of Administrative Services will be placed under the Department of State.

“Beginning with my work chairing the Commission on Government Reorganization and Effectiveness in 1993, I have supported innovative ways to reengineer and make state government more efficient to provide the most value to Delawareans,” Gov. Minner said. “This reorganization makes sense for the efficient and effective operation of central state government services. By creating the Office of Management and Budget, we are centralizing the authority to manage major state assets including people, financial resources, land use planning and state facilities.”

The reorganization will affect more than 400 state employees, but no jobs will be eliminated except for the two cabinet secretary positions. Immediate savings are expected to be $300,000 annually, with the potential for more savings as efficiencies are identified.

Gov. Minner cited several other benefits to the reorganization including quicker processing of several state personnel processes, strengthening links between major categories of state government investment such as employee compensation and budget, and improving service to state agency customers. In addition, this proposal is expected to generate operating budget savings through the consolidation of four cabinet agencies into two.

“Effective management of central state services should serve as the backbone of state government,” Gov. Minner said. “The agencies involved in this reorganization are not often in the public eye but do provide many of the services that allow other state operating agencies to effectively carry out their responsibilities to Delaware’s citizens.”

Gov. Minner will propose legislation in January to temporarily transfer the appropriate authority to the Budget Director over the Personnel Office and parts of Administrative Services and give authority to the Secretary of State over the remaining sections of Administrative Services. Comprehensive legislation amending Delaware State Code for these changes must be passed by the General Assembly during the current legislative session to make them permanent.

A summary of the reorganization proposal is below.

The new Office of Management and Budget will consist of the following current agencies:

• Budget Office
• Office of State Personnel
• Division of Facilities Management (currently in DAS)
• Division of Support Services (currently in DAS)

The Department of State will expand to include the following agencies currently in DAS:

• Public Integrity Commission (PIC)
• Merit Employees Relation Board (MERB)
• Public Employee Relation Board (PERB)
• Public Advocate
• Public Service Commission (PSC)
• Professional Regulation