Here is an example of government mis-management at the Federal level that could serve as a model of what can also happen in local governments.
Apparently the Veteran's Administration schedules appointments for medical or other services for Vets, but they don't ensure that about 18% of the slots are used, thus staff is paid to sit without anything to do. Apparently they have wait lists for the appointments but are NOT efficient in making sure the people on the wait lists are notified to use up the unused appointment slots.
So, what if a School District had 500 buses but only scheduled 450 for trips? Or, they had 12,000 seats available for rides each day, but only picked up 10,000 per day? That means a big chunk of "capacity" wasn't being used, but is still incurring expenditures for wages and supplies.
This is where the electing of business savvy officials is important. They would request such reports and propose mid-year changes, but officials who don't have the "business" gene would rubber stamp the staff recommendations and not ask. An example is the Lake County School Board gets monthly budget to actual reports in their Board meeting package, but NEVER DISCUSS THE BUDGET REPORTS IN PUBLIC MEETINGS or "drill down" into one detailed account to determine the efficiency of spending in a particular department. In contrast, a business will do that on a weekly and monthly basis. WE favor implementation of monthly business workshops where a section of the agencies financials are reviewed for changes and possible adjustments by the elected officials and visiting public. The practice of "spending the budget" must be changed, and if staff won't do it, the elected officials must take action.
So, any government manager in charge of services that are based on capacity should be TRACKING capacity utilization and aim for 100% of capacity. If demand slows, then resources should be released (layoffs, transfers, used for other programs) rather than allowing capacity be unused. We know that schools track attendance to ensure their teacher count doesn't exceed student levels since the schools are paid for each student, but are they or other local government agencies developing management reports to modify available resources as demand goes up or down. A pure example in County government would be the city inspection department, which in Lake County is self supporting, and you see them layoff people as fee paying inspection demand drops. Can we say that other services receiving funds from the General fund also are revised as demand goes up or down?
In Lake County, does management of the School District and the County have such reports, tell the elected Boards, and adjust resources DOWN as well as UP when demand changes? Or, do they just say it is already budgeted for the year, and SPEND THE BUDGET without reducing costs to meet lowered demand? A business would NEVER do that for demand based services.
vj
From the Hawaii Reporter
Inspector General Reports Requested by Akaka Find Flaws in VA Appointment Making
Akaka troubled by continued shortcomings
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the
Veterans’ Affairs Committee, today responded to two new Office of
Inspector General (IG) reports regarding unused appointments in VA and
VA procedures for scheduling appointments and maintaining wait lists.
Senator Akaka requested the reports as part of continuing oversight of
these issues, and based on information received by the Committee.
“The fact that we continue to see a trend of flawed or inefficient
scheduling practices being used by VA is troubling. I have led the
fight to provide full funding for VA but VA must be as efficient and
accurate as possible in order to avoid waste and mismanagement,
especially in these times of economic difficulty.” said Akaka.
According to information provided by IG, approximately 4.9 million
appointments, 18% of all VHA appointments, were unused during Fiscal
Year 2008. By implementing IG recommended procedures to fill
appointments before they go unused, conservative estimates suggest that
VHA could save at least $76 million annually and $380 million over five
years.
“VA can save a lot of money by taking simple steps to reduce the number
of unused health care appointments. VA must act quickly to implement
the recommendations made by the Inspector General,” said Akaka.
IG also reported that in the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans
Health System, scheduling continues to be done inaccurately, resulting
in distorted data being reported. By placing new patients in
“non-count” clinics, statistics on how long veterans wait for their
initial appointments can be skewed. VA’s data collection does not track
those placed in these clinics, which are typically used for routine
procedures such as checking blood pressure. VA, Congress, and others
rely on this data to make informed decisions about staffing and funding
levels.
Jesse Broder Van Dyke is the Press Secretary for Senator Akaka
