Conservatively Speaking

State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend, the town of Vernon and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.

Governor's Weekly Radio Address

Governor Scott Walker’s radio address for this week is about making government more efficient.

The Governor touches on the cost saving measures pursued by employees at the Department of Safety and Professional Services.  These measures combined to save taxpayers more than $100,000 so far this year.   

To listen to the Governor’s radio address, click here.

 

October 13, 2011

For Immediate Release

Contact: Cullen Werwie, 608-267-7303

 

Weekly Radio Address: Making Government More Efficient

 

Madison—Today Governor Walker delivered the weekly radio address that is titled “Making Government More Efficient.”

 

Transcript below:

 

Hi this is Scott Walker. 

On my second day in office, I created the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Commission. 

The commission was charged with looking at all of the things that can be done - big or small - to save taxpayers' money.  These seemingly little things can add up, saving state resources and restoring people’s trust in their government.

Today, I’d like to highlight one of the innovative ways hard-working state employees partnered with agency leadership to save taxpayer resources.  Earlier this year, employees at the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) aggressively pursued ideas to become more efficient, and told their agency leadership about their ideas.  The employees suggested holding virtual meetings, trimming the number of agency meetings, improving the structure of staffing, and reforming the way they reimburse for out of state travel. 

Based on these ideas, the agency took a number of steps to save taxpayer money.  They now utilize video conferencing in lieu of some of their in-person meetings, which has saved more than $17,000.  The agency also eliminated meetings of various state boards where there was little or even no business to discuss; this has saved the state more than $22,000.  The agency also saved $17,000 by cancelling unneeded memberships and subscriptions.  Restructuring staff saved more than $31,000.  And the limitations placed on out of state travel has netted over $16,000 of savings. All told, the agency saved a total of $106,424.10 so far this year.  

While this may not seem like a huge amount of money when compared to the state budget, it is the kind of reform we need from everyone in state government. 

The employees of the Division of Board Services are showing we can do things differently to improve services and save money.

We are continuously looking for ways to make our government work better. And that's good news for everyone in Wisconsin.

The state has partnered with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association to produce and distribute brief radio address once a week.  Audio files and a written transcript of this radio address can be accessed on http://www.wi-broadcasters.org and http://walker.wi.gov/section.asp?linkid=1761&locid=177.  To download an mp3 file you can visit http://walker.wi.gov/section.asp?linkid=1761&locid=177, right click the radio address link and click “save link as.”

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