At the request of the Government Restructuring and Operation Review Committee, President Lisa Ventriss presented a series of remarks which sought to address its charge to “identify opportunities for increasing government efficiency and productivity, in order to reduce spending trends and related resource needs.” The GRORC is chaired by Roundtable member John Sayles.
In her remarks Ventriss referred to the findings of a 2005 effort convened by then-Governor Douglas, under the auspices of the Vermont Institute on Government Effectiveness (VIGE). That effort, chaired by the Roundtable’s Past Chair Mary Powell and executed by Roundtable member David Bradbury, ultimately recommended that the greatest opportunity for meeting Vermont’s growing resource needs were through the adoption of a contemporary technology infrastructure and enterprise-wide management model. As a member of that earlier VIGE board, Ventriss argued the recommendation is still valid today.
She also referred to similar statewide initiatives whose business roundtables were closely involved, including those of Iowa, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington. And Ventriss concluded her remarks by drawing a parallel with the Act 46 unification efforts by saying that any recommendations to restructure government must be more than incremental nibbling around the edges; it must demonstrate that the whole process of innovation, technology deployment and interdepartmental collaboration will accrue greater benefits to taxpayers.
The GRORC Interim Report can be found at http://legislature.vermont.gov/assets/Legislative-Reports/GRORC-Interim-Report-Final.pdf . The final report is scheduled to be delivered by November 2016 for possible action in the 2017-18 biennial session.
