• GAZLO
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES
• BUSINESSES

Governor’s troubled efficiency plan falls short

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The headline-grabbing claim from Gov. Jim Doyle in March 2005 couldn’t have been clearer.

At a news conference, Doyle said his administration would save taxpayers up to $200 million over four years through better management of the state bureaucracy under the so-called ACE Initiative.

The state would negotiate new contracts to buy goods and services for less money. It would sell off surplus property. And it would consolidate a number of other functions across state government to find savings.

“Every dollar we save on the office functions of state government is a dollar we can invest in our priorities,” Doyle said.

But three years later, a review shows the goals outlined by the governor have not been met. His administration quietly killed the initiative last year after faulty projections, unexpected problems and bureaucratic resistance hampered the effort.

State auditors are beginning to dig into whether initiative saved taxpayers any money. Lawmakers recently ordered the audit, which is expected to take several months.

“There was an incredible overestimation of what the savings would be,” said Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay, who pushed for the audit. “The administration went into this with excellent intentions but it just didn’t work out. We need to find out why.”

Jill Malak, a spokeswoman for AFT-Wisconsin, a state employees union, said her union warned the program wouldn’t work from the beginning because it relied too heavily on private contractors.

“We haven’t seen any positive, quantifiable results from the ACE initiative,” she said. “And we have seen corruption and the mismanagement of funds to a staggering level. It’s either gross incompetence or something a little bit more insidious.”