Douglas said that the commission is expected to meet formally for the first time in the next several weeks and would be funded by private sector contributions.
The commission will review the program objectives, workflows, staffing levels, resource needs and technological opportunities throughout state government and identify the best methods of achieving objectives at the lowest possible cost to Vermont taxpayers.
"As the commission works it will recommend to the governor policy, organizational and managerial improvements that could result in cost savings, efficiency, reduction of duplication, and increases in consumer satisfaction," Douglas said.
The last comprehensive review of the systems and services within state government was conducted more than a quarter of a century ago. "The last top-to-bottom, in-depth study of government functions was conducted in 1977. That process identified millions of dollars in savings," Douglas said.
Retired KPMG partner David Coates will serve as chairman and Green Mountain Power CIO Mary Powell will serve as vice chair of the commission.
Coates said the commission would be seeking to organize as a not-for-profit organization and hire an executive director and other research staff as private funding permits.
In February, Douglas created a working group dubbed the Program to Advance Government Efficiency (PAGE). Douglas asked the PAGE committee to create a blueprint for a comprehensive review of state government to be carried out by private sector experts with a view toward improving government performance and eliminating unnecessary expense. The PAGE committee recommended that the governor establish the commission in order to achieve his objectives.
"As I said in my inaugural address," the governor said, "we will keep what has worked, discard what has failed, rein in our excesses and proceed forward with a bold agenda of renewal."
