Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Commends Department for Recognizing Over $500,000 in Savings
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt commends the Missouri Department of Economic Development for realizing more than half a million in savings following a quarterly review of department operations.
"I commend Director Greg Steinhoff and his staff for exhibiting responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars," Blunt said. "It is clear that state government can do a better job in reducing costs and the Department of Economic Development has taken that task seriously."
The department identified $557,000 in cost reductions that either have been realized or will be realized during the fiscal year that began July 1.
The Public Service Commission saved more than $260,000 by using internal resources, rather than a private contractor, to develop a disaster recovery plan for its Electronic Filing and Information System (EFIS). The EFIS is the commission’s docket, tariff and consumer service management tool. The Missouri Division of Tourism has identified $70,000 in savings by consolidating how it collects information for the Missouri Vacation Planner, $12,000 in savings by placing its marketing plan online instead of providing paper copies and savings of $1,200 in additional marketing plan changes. The Missouri Arts Council is saving $150,000 this year by reducing senior staff from four people to two people.
The department’s Finance Division has identified $24,000 in savings by being more efficient when purchasing computers and software. Meanwhile, overall department mailing costs will be reduced by more than $18,000 because of a new mail service agreement with the University of Missouri. New software upgrades within the department will save another $10,000.
The Office of Public Counsel identified $2,500 in savings by switching its computer search service from Westlaw to Lexis/Nexis while another $5,000 will be saved by eliminating the most expensive periodical subscriptions. The Division of Professional Registration saved $15,000 in the month of August alone by having technical services billed on an hourly rate while the Division of Credit Unions reported a $4,200 quarterly saving by handling the processing of some reports from the Jefferson City office.
"We remain committed to reducing costs and improving our efforts to meet the governor’s goals of creating jobs and spurring economic development in Missouri," Steinhoff said.
For more information contact Paul Sloca at the Department of Economic Development at (573) 751-9065.
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