THE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE PROJECTReport Card: Utah FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: A There are simply no weak links in Utah's financial management. Fiscal analysts on both the executive and legislative sides take cost clearly into account in every move the state makes. There are clear policies for investment and a stable rate of return. Debt is tightly controlled. Utah is one of a few states in which both the budget and the financial reports are produced in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles An unusual effort is made in Utah to communicate an array of financial information to citizens through state-financed newspaper inserts. As of next year, Utah's fiscal notes will show the impact of legislation not only on state government but on the private sector and individual citizens as well. Because the state takes care of its basic business so well, it can delve into small innovations, like a central travel office to take care of employee business trips. The state negotiates fixed-rate contracts with airlines—say for tickets from Salt Lake City to Washington, D.C.—with refundable tickets and no requirement for Saturday stays. CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: A Legislation mandating twice-a-decade condition assessments for state-owned buildings took effect in 1997. The first round of assessments found about $10 million in urgent capital repair needs. About half of this was funded immediately, and the rest will be funded shortly. One reason for Utah's exemplary approach to maintenance is a state law requiring that before money may be provided for new facilities—or even for major renovation work—maintenance funding must be provided at a level equal to at least 0.9 percent of the replacement cost of existing facilities. In past years, state legislators have been inclined to add ribbon-cutting opportunities to the state's capital budget. But this is less of an issue than it used to be as better coordination between the governor's office and the State Building Board has helped keep the budget in line with prioritized recommendations. HUMAN RESOURCES: B+ In 1994, Utah rewrote its personnel rules completely to replace typical government bureaucratese with plain English. "We wanted to make the rules much more accessible and readable to employees," says Karen Okabe, executive director of human resource management. "Our rules impact on their life." There is no formalized workforce planning, but Utah does have a state-of-the art computerized system that permits hiring from databased resumes. This gives the state—and its agencies—a great deal of information upon which to assess future needs. Utah is also working toward implementation of a training records management system that will allow it to keep precise track of the work-related courses individuals have taken. But while the state has been making a series of efforts to improve its training methods, and has a variety of tools available to motivate employees, it is not only underpaying them relative to the private sector but losing good ones to local government. Over the past five years, according to one state study, some local jurisdictions have given out as much as 22 percent in pay raises, while the state has been at about 13 percent. This is particularly troublesome in public works and public safety jobs. MANAGING FOR RESULTS: B+ The "Utah Tomorrow" strategic plan sounds great. It incorporates goals and objectives with performance measures and is updated annually. But support for it in the legislature has fallen off; one legislative faction is philosophically opposed to the concept of statewide planning. In 1997, the legislature didn't approve the plan at all. In 1998, rather than taking the plan to the full House and Senate, the executive branch took relevant portions to standing committees for approval or just for commentary. Last summer, the legislature set up a new Utah Tomorrow committee, with involvement from legislative and executive branches, as well as citizen input. The committee decided that the effort is worthwhile and should continue, but that the legislature must be better involved. Meanwhile, the state moves ahead with other impressive work in this area. Many state agencies use outcome measures, and compare them to results in other states and national averages. Requests for increased funding in the governor's budget must identify associated goals and objectives. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: B+ A statewide data warehouse provides financial, human resources and payroll information in Utah over a wide-area network. It allows users to generate their own reports at any time, saving the state more than $5 million annually in report development costs. The state's personnel management system is top-notch. Utah's IT planning process is thorough and complete and has attracted national attention. This year, the IT office was moved to the cabinet level. The state also is in the early stages of formally designating architecture and standards. Although many de facto standards exist, "we need improvement in terms of making it written," says Chief Information Officer David Moon. Moon also believes that individual agencies need to provide more time for employee training in information technology, and that the state needs more central coordination of training opportunities. At the moment, with training provided on an agency-by-agency basis, the state misses out on economies of scale. AVERAGE GRADE: A-
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