Making Government Smarter and More Efficient
Just like Missouri families are forced to do more with less during tough times, Missouri’s government must tighten its belt and do the same. Upon taking office, Gov. Nixon worked diligently to identify areas where government could be smarter and more efficient – saving the taxpayers millions. Gov. Nixon cut spending, consolidated government services, downsized the bureaucracy, better-used technology and made the tough decisions needed to keep our fiscal house in order.
Among the steps Gov. Nixon took to make our government more efficient are the following:
- Selling state cars, cutting mileage reimbursements and using communications technology more efficiently. Savings to the taxpayers: Nearly $7 million over the next two years.
- Merging the Highway Patrol and the Water Patrol. The same number of troopers remained on our roads and waterways, but the bureaucracy was downsized considerably. Savings to the taxpayers: $3 million.
- Eliminating unused office space, consolidating state health and agriculture labs and renegotiating building leases. Savings to the taxpayers: more than $5 million.
- Cutting state energy bills two years in a row. Savings to taxpayers: $3 million.
- Reviewing agency procurement contracts and eliminating automatic contract increases. More than $10 million in savings has been identified.
- Reforming and modernizing the state pension system, which will keep it solvent now and for years to come. This will save the taxpayers more than $660 million over the next decade.
The Center for Digital Government ranked Missouri as one of the top five states in using technology to provide services to residents and streamline operations. Prior to Gov. Nixon taking office, Missouri ranked 24th out of all states. Gov. Nixon has made the use of technology, particularly the web, one of the hallmarks of his effort to run a more efficient and effective government for Missourians.
Gov. Nixon’s sound fiscal management has earned the state a Triple-A bond rating – the top rating – making Missouri one of the only states in the Midwest to earn the highest rating from all the rating agencies. The Triple-A bond rating is a key indicator to the business community and saves the taxpayers millions a year in interest. This strong fiscal leadership has allowed Missouri to make investments that are helping turn the economy around.