“I will not rest until our fiscal house is in order. I will not rest until California is a competitive job-creating machine. And I will not rest until the people of California come to see their government as a partner in their lives...not a roadblock to their dreams’’-Governor Schwarzenegger
| ONCE THE ENVY OF THE NATION, TODAY OUR STATE GOVERNMENT FAILS THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA, AND IT FAILS THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR CAREERS TO ITS SERVICE |
California’s spirit is alive and well, but in one vital area, the state is ailing. Once the envy of the nation, today our state government fails the people of California, and it fails the men and women who have given their careers to its service.
Today, California is a step behind. The current fiscal crisis is only the most obvious and pressing example of the problems in our state government.
- The state’s organizational structure is chaotic and cumbersome. It is the product of incremental changes made over the last five decades without regard to the need for coordinated leadership or management and without thinking about how the changes might interfere with effectively serving the people.
- Our management systems are outdated and ineffective. They don’t provide management with the most basic information in a timely fashion.
- We have programs whose time has come and gone, but still they linger on, wasting valuable taxpayer dollars.
- We face a potential human capital crisis as more than a third of our state employees become eligible for retirement in the next five years.
- In the nation’s most technologically advanced state, our government’s basic systems are outmoded at the moment when the world is being connected by fast, efficient networks.
| CALIFORNIA CAN ONCE AGAIN BE A TRAILBLAZER, AN INNOVATOR AND A MODEL FOR THE REST OF THE NATION. |
California is not alone in facing monumental challenges in the years ahead. All state governments confront a growing demand for services, increasing costs, revenue problems and growing taxpayer dissatisfaction. The issue confronting California state government in the 21st century is whether it can chart a course to meet the needs of its citizens without draining the state of its economic vitality with high taxes and questionable regulations.
We think it can.
We reject a future in which California lags behind other states and fails to achieve its potential. California can once again be a trailblazer, an innovator and a model for the rest of the nation. This report provides a general diagnosis of the challenges facing California state government and a prescription for how to bring about meaningful improvement.
Our prescription for change is tied to seven “vital signs” of a healthy and effective government. These vital signs are similar to issues that good businesses evaluate again and again. They are the questions good managers ask of their organizations, and they are the issues that the people of California deserve to have clearly addressed. The elements essential to fixing California state government include:
- How we serve the people of California.
- How we manage our people.
- How we cut costs and save taxpayer dollars.
- How we make our government more accountable.
- How we manage our business operations.
- How we use the power of technology.
- How we organize our business to realize our goals.
California is great, but we can do better. No more business as usual. We can cure what ails our state government, and we can do it with the inventiveness and boldness for which California is known. We can build something not seen before, the first truly 21st century American government. We can create a government that is leaner without being meaner; a government that supports the state’s economy and does not hold it back; and a state as innovative and creative as the people it serves.
To achieve this future, however, we must chart a new course, a course that serves our children and grandchildren, as well as ourselves.
These recommendations provide a prescription for change that is essential if California state government is to regain its former role as a leader among the states.
Although these recommendations alone will not return the state to its traditional role as a national leader, they set out a clear vision—a road map—for recapturing that leadership.
| WE CAN GIVE CALIFORNIANS THE GOVERNMENT THEY DESERVE: THE BEST GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD. |
It won’t be easy to accomplish the transformation proposed by the California Performance Review, but we can do it. We can give Californians the government they deserve: The best government in the world.
We must act, and we must act now.