Instead of paying for hotel rooms, Arizona Game and Fish Department staff will camp out while traveling on state business.

That was one of thousands of money saving ideas from state employees taking part in Governor Napolitano’s Efficiency Review (ER) program, which is projected to save more than $843 million by 2009, she says.

Most of the savings would come in the areas of health care and purchasing.

The program already has resulted in $37 million in savings this year, Ms. Napolitano said. The amount is well short of the $300 million she set as a first-year savings goal during her campaign for governor.

“This is only the beginning of the savings,” she said in response to a question about her campaign statement. “We’re almost at a billion dollars now in savings we’ve identified,” she said. “These are conservatively stated numbers. By the time you get to the others savings, we will be there”

Ms. Napolitano said the first-year savings will be reflected in her 2004 budget, which will be presented to the Legislature in mid-January.

Senate President Skeptical

“I doubt she’ll suggest reducing the budget by that amount,” Senate President Ken Bennett, Dist. 1, said. He questioned whether the governor’s projected savings are actual reductions in current expenses or reductions in future spending increases.

They’re both, said Jeanine L’Ecuyer, the governor’s spokeswoman. “It does include cost avoidances and many, many real cuts.”

“That may be good,” Mr. Bennett said of the projected reductions in future spending increases, “but it’s not savings as most people would define it.”

He added that the state will spend $85 billion, including federal money, over the next five years, and Ms. Napolitano’s projected savings are 1 per cent of that.

“Is that reasonable?” he asked. “I hope so.”

Employees Submit Ideas

The Democratic governor called for the efficiency review of state government during her first month in office, and 7,500 ideas have since been submitted, half of them from the Department of Transportation, which already has saved $1.7 million through reduced mailings and more efficient collection of fuel taxes.

“The aim of ER is to find practical and sensible ways for state agencies and state government… to reduce costs, cut bureaucracy, eliminate duplication and improve customer service,” Ms. Napolitano said.

“State finances are and continue to be extremely tight, and I want to know that public dollars are being spent as efficiently as possible,” said the governor at a Dec. 22 news conference against a backdrop of cartons containing 3.3 million sheets of paper saved by consolidating forms at the Department of Health Services. The consolidation also frees up nearly 100,000 staff hours for a net savings of $3.5 million.

Controlling employee health care costs, including conversion to self-insurance and modernizing the state procurement system were projected to save more than $520 million by the end of fiscal 2008. In addition, an estimated $323.3 million would be saved through various efficiency programs, including:

• Recovery of overpayments to vendors, $48.6 million

• Training consolidation, $35 million

• Energy conservation, $6.1 million

• Limiting the use of consultants, $31.7 million

• Consolidation of office space, $14.7 million

• New technologies for mailing and printing, $9.8 million

• Continued reduction of vehicle fleets, $5.1 million

The Department of Agriculture has reduced its vehicle fleet for a savings of $200,000.

Ms. Napolitano said there is no longer a need for “permanent consultants,” and such advisers will only be hired for projects the state can’t do on its own.

“Consultants have become kind of a permanent underground of government,” she said.

Although she compromised during the recently concluded special legislation session to allow 1,000 new private prison beds, the governor said she does not believe privatization of government services saves money, adding she doubted that the private prison beds would end up on her list of efficiency savings.

“I remain skeptical…” she said.

More than a dozen state employees involved in the efficiency program accompanied Ms. Napolitano at the news conference, which was held in front of a warehouse at Arizona State Hospital.

“I could not be more proud of Arizona state employees than I am today,” the governor said. —