The departments of state government should have explicitly stated management goals and the means to measure performance in achieving those goals, says Sen. J. Clement Cicilline, a Newport Democrat.
Any new programs or changes to programs that carry significant costs should be outlined to the Senate and House Finance committees, Cicilline said. He added that such programs should be evaluated by what they accomplish and by how they relate to the department’s strategic-management plan.
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“If that sounds like expecting state government to be more goal-oriented and performance-minded, it is,” Cicilline said. “Quite frankly, that’s not an unreasonable expectation. I believe that strategic planning will establish reasonable goals and will generate predictable results, which can help measure how state government is operating.”
The Rhode Island Senate approved Cicilline’s bill on May 1 and sent it to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The bill, 01-S 0764, would require state departments – excluding quasi-public agencies and departments headed by a general officer – to establish a strategic-management plan, along with a department mission statement and performance goals, by Jan. 2, 2002.
By Oct. 1, 2002, each department would be required to establish an implementation program to meet the goals.
By Jan. 1, 2003, any request for a new program or change to an existing program that would increase or decrease the program’s funding by 20 percent or more would need to be accompanied by a statement from the department to the senate and house subcommittees. The statement would describe the nature of the request and its relationship to the department’s strategic-management plan.
Starting March 1, 2006, under the Cicilline bill, a department’s strategic-management plan must include a performance evaluation on the department’s progress in meeting the goals set forth in its previous plan.
Departments also would be required to involve the public and department employees in developing and revising strategic-management plans. All plans, reports, performance measurements and implementation programs would be made public record.
A report by the Senate fiscal committee indicated that “although passage of this bill may increase expenditures from all funds within each state department, such expenditures are generally absorbed within each department budget. Therefore, any expenditure increase should be negligible.”
“In other words,” said Cicilline, “an ounce of strategic planning by state government departments can lead to pounds of efficiency.
“As citizens of this state, we don’t want government departments to exist merely to spend taxpayer money,” Cicilline said. “We want them to operate effectively and efficiently. To best do that, they need to start with definitive goals and have regular progress reviews. That is, simply, what this bill asks them to do.”
