Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday announced more than $217 million in savings during the 2016-17 fiscal year from his administration’s efforts to modernize government operations to reduce costs and improve efficiencies through the Governor’s Office of Transformation, Innovation, Management and Efficiency (GO-TIME).
The cumulative savings during the Wolf administration is over $373 million.
“We are changing the way state does business to make government more efficient and achieve real savings for taxpayers,” said Gov. Wolf. ”We are creating a Government That Works and will continue to build on these successes to assure tax dollars are spent wisely and important programs and services are protected. This is not just about saving money – it is also about delivering better customer service and driving state government into the 21st century with better technology and tools.”
To date, GO-TIME has identified nearly 300 initiatives by departments to modernize operations through process improvements, using technology and identifying opportunities to collaborate and share resources.
Some examples of projects contributing to the $217 million in savings in FY 2016-17 include:
-- Deploying Mobile Apps to Improve Service: The PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency launched a mobile app to help connect victims with local advocates for legal and medical services and compensation assistance and information regarding their rights and protections.The myCOMPASS mobile app by the Department of Human Services allows individuals who have applied for or receive assistance benefits to view details on their cases and the status of applications, update contact information and upload documents, improving customer service while reducing in-person visits, phone calls, postage and printing.
-- Reducing Energy Costs:
-- The Department of Corrections has implemented energy conservation measures at State Correctional Institution Dallas that will be paid for with cost savings from reduced consumption.
-- An innovative contract to build a solar panel farm at Fort Indiantown Gap will allow the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to replace electricity from the grid with clean, renewable energy for the next 20 years.
-- Improving Processes:
-- PennDOT highway maintenance staff in Montgomery County piloted an overnight asphalt sealing schedule that allows the work to be done with half the crew members and less disruption to motorists.
-- Employees at the Department of State used continuous process methodologies to redesign the payment process for expert witnesses, reducing the turnaround time by almost half, from 52 days to 26.5 days, and dramatically reducing the number of steps.
-- The Department of Health is piloting the observation of tuberculosis treatment via video instead of in-person to reduce the need for health care professionals to travel to patients.
-- Improving Procurement Strategies: The Department of General Services saved state agencies over $74 million in 16/17 on purchases of goods and services through negotiated price reductions, contract renewals and reverse auctions.
-- Modernizing the Hiring Process: The Office of Administration implemented vacancy-based postings for non-civil service positions and a modern, user-friendly website, increasing the number and quality of candidates applying for jobs. Similar improvements are in progress for civil service hiring.
-- Streamlining Oil and Gas Inspections: The Department of Environmental Protection partnered with PennDOT to deploy mobile technology to perform inspections of surface activities at oil and gas sites, eliminating paper forms, increasing productivity and making results available more quickly to the public.
-- Centralizing Grants Management: The Department of Community and Economic Development is making the IT system it uses to manage grants, loans and tax credits available for use by other state agencies, allowing them to abandon inefficient paper-based processes without having to buy or build their own systems. DEP was the first to adopt the system and other agencies are preparing to come on board.
For more information, visit the Governor’s Office of Transformation, Innovation, Management and Efficiency (GO-TIME) website.
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