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04-16-2003

Page history last edited by PBworks 17 years, 6 months ago

April 16, 2003

ROMNEY, BOSTON CHAMBER URGE NEED FOR MANAGEMENT REFORMS

Reforms would overhaul antiquated system and encourage accountability, efficiency

 

Joined by members of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, Governor Mitt Romney today urged the Legislature to approve commonsense management reforms that will give him the tools to run state government more efficiently and effectively.

 

Romney’s plan – proposed in his budget – removes managers from the union, eliminates so-called bumping rights and reforms the state’s outsourcing law.

 

“Our state workforce is hardworking and dedicated. They do a difficult job under sometimes trying circumstances,” Romney said. “But, in order to manage our workforce more effectively and efficiently, our administration needs the right management tools.”

 

He added, “My administration’s goal is to maintain a talented and dedicated public workforce while providing the taxpayers with maximum value for their hard-earned dollars.”

 

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce President Paul Guzzi endorsed Romney’s plans, saying, “We support these reforms and the opportunity they present to improve state services, increase efficiency, and achieve significant cost savings in the face of the state's fiscal crisis. These reforms are based on sound policy, and make good fiscal sense for Massachusetts.”

 

To guarantee that the most qualified workers rise to the top of the management ladder, Romney’s proposal removes government managers from union membership, bringing Massachusetts in line with the National Labor Relations Act and with most other states in the nation. His plan also eliminates a potential conflict of interest that currently exists with these managers often having to make decisions on union-related employee disputes.

 

“Bringing the best management practices to the public sector requires creating a system that puts the best managers in charge,” Romney said. “Massachusetts is fortunate to have so many talented men and women working in government and clearly distinguishing management positions from other union positions will help to ensure we maintain a top-notch public work force in the years to come.”

 

The Romney proposal also ends the practice of bumping rights, which protects a state employee based solely on seniority, regardless of expertise, experience or performance.

 

Romney noted an example in which a state worker with seniority as a tax processor avoided being laid off by taking the job of a fellow colleague who worked in child support, an area where this employee has no experience whatsoever.

 

Romney said this provision undermines the effectiveness of the state workforce, adding, “Multiply this by a thousand times and you would have hundreds of workers doing jobs for which they are totally unqualified.”

 

In addition, Romney and the business leaders called for a reform of the state’s outsourcing law, noting that Massachusetts is the only state that virtually prohibits outsourcing of any functions currently performed by state employees.

 

The outsourcing law currently mandates that private bids be compared not to the actual cost, but to what the cost would be if state employees were to work in the most cost-efficient manner. If the cost of the private bid is lower than the cost of having state employees deliver the service, then the State Auditor must review the contract and determine whether the private vendor will deliver equal quality and savings for the services.

 

Romney noted that since the passage of the outsourcing law in 1993, only eight outsourcing contracts have even been proposed in Massachusetts. He said this contrasts sharply with the rest of the nation, in which the total value of federal, state and local contracts with the private firms is up 65 percent.

 

“My administration wants to restore a fair bidding process to the Commonwealth,” Romney said. “Our public sector employees are talented and they work hard. Allowing fair, merit-based competition to thrive will ultimately benefit not only the taxpayers, but our public workforce as well.”

 

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