Thursday, June 30, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, (573)751-0290
Blunt’s Directives Save Big at Revenue
Governor Calls Director "Good Steward" of Tax Dollars
JEFFERSON CITY—As a result of Governor Matt Blunt’s call to improve efficiency and end wasteful spending, the Department of Revenue tightened its belt in the second half of Fiscal Year 2005 to save $3.5 million on expenses and equipment and personal services. Added to next year’s estimated savings the department expects to save more than $10 million by the end of next Fiscal Year.
"In recent years, state government has been allowed to grow unchecked and out of control with little thought to reducing spending," said Governor Blunt. "The Department of Revenue has taken my call to improve state government while getting the most for each and every tax dollar to heart. They are making tough decisions and have been consistently focused on trimming expenses on a day-to-day basis. I applaud Director Trish Vincent’s commitment to promoting good stewardship of our taxpayers’ dollars."
Transitioning the state’s 11 branch license offices into offices run by contract agents accounted for nearly 200 of the total 218.5 FTE reductions, and will save the state more than $7 million each year. Meanwhile, customers statewide have seen no decrease in the department’s commitment to customer service.
The department has achieved these savings by looking at every dollar spent. It ended newspaper and magazine subscriptions as well as food expenditures, reduced organizational memberships, cut its automobile fleet, and greatly limited travel. It ended a $4,000 per month consulting contract where virtually no work had been performed. "In this department, we are no longer spending the taxpayers’ dollars on pizza and magazines," said Vincent, "and we never will."
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