(Host) Governor Jim Douglas has created a special seven-person commission that will conduct a top to bottom review of state government with the goal of making recommendations to help make government more efficient. Douglas says the study is needed because it’s been 25 years since this kind of comprehensive review has taken place.
The panel will be chaired by retired accounting executive David Coates. The governor says it’s important to have an outside group look at the operations of state government to see if there are areas of duplication that can be eliminated or services that can be improved:
(Douglas) “Many state employees have ideas that will be presented to the commission and reviewed, and I expect in many cases adopted. But it’s important to me to have an objective look at operations. Those of us who work in state government are used to doing things certain ways and can benefit, I think, from the outside perspective of a group that’s not involved on a day to day basis.”
(Host) Douglas says the commission will be set up as a non profit organization to allow the group to seek private funds to pay for its $100,000 budget.
The group plans to hold a series of hearings over the next year and a half. Because the commission isn’t a state government organization, it’s not clear if its work will fall under Vermont’s open meeting law.