Administration Secretary Neale Lunderville announced today that Chief Technology Officer Tom Evslin will coordinate the executive branch activities necessary to successfully meet the Challenges for Change agreed to by the Governor and Legislative leaders last week. The joint reform initiative is expected to net $38 million in savings in FY2011 and twice that in FY2012 and beyond, while actually improving the outcomes of state government actions. The challenges were defined in a joint executive-legislative effort assisted by consultants from Public Strategies Group, who have helped with similar, although less ambitious, efforts in other states and who will continue to be involved in this effort.
Senator Diane Snelling, Chair of the Joint Legislative Government Accountability Committee, which is the committee of jurisdiction for the challenges process, also announced that Evslin has been added to the steering committee for the challenges. Other members of steering committee are Secretary Lunderville, Finance Commissioner Jim Reardon, Senator Snelling, Representative Michael Obuchowski, Representative Donna Sweaney, and Representative Ann Manwaring.
According to Secretary Lunderville, Evslin will be responsible for assuring that executive agencies stay on track to meet the very aggressive challenge schedules and goals and that the agencies’ plans are coordinated with each other and the technology necessary for both measurement and success. “Tom did a similar big job for us in a hurry when he was Chief Recovery Officer coordinating our response to the stimulus bill (ARRA),” said Lunderville. “Governor Douglas has instructed the executive agencies to appoint senior operating officers as ‘change agents’ for the challenge and to cooperate fully with Evslin and the Legislature.”
Executive branch agencies are responsible for working with legislative committees to define the measureable outcomes state programs are expected to produce. The agencies are also responsible for determining how to achieve the outcomes agreed on by the legislature within the budget constraint of the challenges. “The legislative process determines the ‘what’ and the executive branch is responsible for the ‘how’,” said Senator Snelling. “CTO Evslin’s experience with the technology needed to meet many of these challenges will be a big help here.”
“We look forward to working with Tom and benefitting from his expertise,” said Representative Sweaney. Representative Obuchowski added “Tom Evslin is a true public servant and will continue to serve Vermonters well in this capacity.”
“This effort is already a unique collaboration between the legislative and executive branches,” said Evslin. “I’m glad to have the opportunity to be part of meeting the Challenges for Change.”
