County Executive Craig Announces Recommendations From The Commission On Efficiency

(Bel Air, MD – October 6, 2008) – – Harford County Executive David R. Craig has announced the recommendations from the Commission on Efficiency and Economy in Government. The Commission was established in November of 2007 in response to the fiscal crisis of the State of Maryland.

The county executive formed the Commission pursuant to Article IV, Section 412 of the Harford County Charter and charged the Commission to make recommendations with respect to how county government could be more efficient and save taxpayers money.

The Commission conducted more than a dozen meetings over the course of eight months in studying current operations and practices of Harford County Government for the purpose of identifying opportunities for improvement and seeking ways to maximize existing resources.

The bi-partisan Commission was comprised of 11 members who were well versed in government, business and law. The Commission was chaired by Scott T. Gibson, Director of Human Resources for Harford County.

“I am deeply grateful to each member of the Commission for the sacrifice of their time and commitment to this initiative,” County Executive David R. Craig stated. “The recommendations are sound and we will endeavor to implement those we can as soon as practical. Naturally some of the recommendations have an initial fiscal impact that will provide cost savings and efficiency in the long run and will be addressed through the legislative process with our County Council as necessary,” the county executive remarked.

The 39 page Commission report contains recommendations to reform the culture of government, make departments of government more accountable for their performance, require more accountability from the Board of Education, reform procurement procedures, better manage facilities and operations and overhaul the Office of Information Systems so departments can better utilize technology.

The Commission, under the leadership of Scott T. Gibson, Director of Human Resources, began their work late last year, well before the current state of the economy was known or projected. The Commission’s recommendations include short term – those that can be implemented immediately and long-term, those requiring time and a fiscal commitment by the county to bring about long-lasting cost-saving improvements to government.

“Now more than ever, due to the state of our economy as well as the fiscal state of our state, we must work to find local solutions to our problems. This report will help serve as a blueprint of things which can be done to improve the operation of county government as well as save taxpayer’s money,” County Executive Craig remarked.