Governor Gina M. Raimondo signed Executive Order 19-04, establishing the creation of the statewide Government Efficiency Commission today. The commission, chaired by Department of Administration Director Michael DiBiase, is charged with recommending ways for ways for the State of Rhode Island to streamline its service delivery, enhance efficient operations, and deliver cost savings through programmatic and real estate rightsizing.
As proposed in her budget, the commission will be responsible for finding at least $10 million in savings that will enhance the performance and service delivery of government.
“The demands of citizens are changing more quickly than ever before. I’m asking my team and members of our community to take a fresh look at state government and find efficiencies in our programs and real estate portfolio that make strategic sense for the future,” said Governor Raimondo. “While we continue to make critical long-term investments in the workforce, education and health care, it is our obligation to ensure government services come at the best possible value for taxpayers.”
The commission will consist of nine members from the public and private sector:
- Michael DiBiase, Director, RI Department of Administration
- Jonathan Womer, Director, RI Office of Management & Budget
- Cynthia J. Butler, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, President, Butler & Associates Human Resources Consulting; RI Society of Human Resources Management (RI SHRM)
- Anthony Silva, Chief of Staff, Office of Lt. Governor Dan McKee
- Maureen Martin, Secretary-Treasurer, RI AFL-CIO
- Michael Knipper, Executive Vice President, Property and Procurement, Citizens Bank
- Brian Daniels, Executive Director, RI League of Cities and Towns
- Christina Pitney, Vice President, Strategy & Strategic Partnerships, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
- John Simmons, Executive Director, RI Public Expenditure Council
Staff employed by the RI Office of Management and Budget and various state agencies, as well as an outside real estate consultant, will be providing support to the commission.
“One of the Administration’s goals is to make government work better,” Director DiBiase said. “One way to do that is to do the hard work and look at everything from our programs to state properties. Many of our state buildings, for example, are more than 75 years old and have significant deferred maintenance. We need to assess our real estate portfolio so that current and future decisions about state properties can benefit from strong strategic guidance while ensuring structural cost savings. Taking a step back to proactively reassess statewide needs further reduces the requirement for short-term savings initiatives in the future and ensures the State is able to further invest in priorities that have direct impacts on the lives of Rhode Islanders.”
Several other state and local governments have recently created similar commissions, including Connecticut, New York, Wisconsin and Florida. The commission’s findings will be presented to the General Assembly in early May.
