MINUTES OF THE meeting
of the
ASSEMBLY Committee on Ways and Means
Seventy-Second Session
February 10, 2003
The Committee on Ways and Meanswas called to order at 9:10 a.m., on Monday, February 10, 2003. Chairman Morse Arberry Jr. presided in Room 3137 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Guest List. All exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mr. Morse Arberry Jr., Chairman
Ms. Chris Giunchigliani, Vice Chairwoman
Mr. Walter Andonov
Mr. Bob Beers
Mrs. Vonne Chowning
Mrs. Dawn Gibbons
Mr. David Goldwater
Mr. Josh Griffin
Mr. Lynn Hettrick
Ms. Sheila Leslie
Mr. John Marvel
Ms. Kathy McClain
Mr. David Parks
Mr. Richard Perkins
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Mr. John Carpenter
Mr. Tom Collins
Mr. Rod Sherer
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mark Stevens, Assembly Fiscal Analyst
Steve Abba, Principal Deputy Fiscal Analyst
Julie Brand, Program Analyst
Susan Cherpeski, Committee Secretary
Connie Davis, Committee Secretary
Chairman Arberry announced the first order of business before the Committee would be A.B. 20.
Assembly Bill 20: Makes appropriation to Department of Motor Vehicles for creation and maintenance of branch office in Wendover. (BDR S-228)
Assemblyman John Carpenter, Assembly District No. 33, addressed the Committee on behalf of A.B. 20. Mr. Carpenter explained the bill would create a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) branch office in Wendover. He said Wendover was a growing community with approximately 4,700 people. Mr. Carpenter explained the DMV office in Elko had a traveling team that went to Wendover eight times a year to perform DMV transactions. Mr. Carpenter indicated the bill had been introduced in order to put the request on the record and to assess the cost of placing a DMV office in Wendover. He indicated he had revised figures from the Department of Motor Vehicles that increased the budget amount from $135,000 to $168,000, and he indicated the Committee had been given those statistics. Mr. Carpenter stated he would like to have a DMV office in Wendover, but he acknowledged there were budget constraints and offered to answer any questions from the Committee.
Assemblyman Marvel inquired about the status of the annexation of east Wendover and if it appeared that the annexation would be happening in the future. Mr. Carpenter replied he did not know. He indicated he and Senator Rhoads were having a bill drafted to annex the Utah portion of Wendover and create one city, all of which would be in Nevada. Mr. Carpenter surmised that there were many problems with the situation. He said Wendover, Utah, had many problems, including a large debt on the airport and a water and sewer system in a state of disrepair. Mr. Carpenter explained that there had been an attempt to combine the schools and both superintendents had worked toward that, but the people from Wendover had decided they did not want the schools combined. Even though a vote had shown the citizens on both sides of the line would support making it one community, Mr. Carpenter was not sure it would become a reality. He pointed out that it would have to be determined if the people of west Wendover, Elko, and Elko County would be negatively affected before taking decisive action.
Mr. Marvel asked what the population of Wendover, Utah, was. Mr. Carpenter replied it was less than the Nevada population of 4,700; he thought it was approximately 3,000. Mr. Carpenter explained when he had been on the Board of County Commissioners it had been determined that combining the two cities at that time was not feasible. He reiterated there would be a bill and at that time it would be decided if it was feasible or not.
Chairman Arberry inquired whether the volume of transactions would be sufficient to justify maintaining a DMV office in Wendover. Mr. Carpenter pointed out that Hawthorne had an office and 5,000 transactions a year were being done in that office. Mr. Carpenter conjectured that Nevada residents were registering their vehicles and getting driver’s licenses in Utah, using a post office box number, which might be a result of not having a DMV office. Mr. Carpenter indicated it was a hardship for the Elko office to send two employees to Jackpot, Wells, and Wendover, and it created a backlog of work for the Elko office. He said that if the DMV office did not seem feasible currently, a possible option would be to send the traveling team more often in order to assess the needs of Wendover.
Chairman Arberry asked for more details regarding the number of staff and the location of the office. Ginny Lewis, Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles, identified herself for the record and addressed Chairman Arberry’s question. She explained that the fiscal note that was presented to the Committee provided for a staff of three. That was minimum staffing and represented a supervisor, a DMV Technician IV, who performed the driving tests, and a DMV Technician III. She said that was standard staffing for all the small rural offices. Ms. Lewis explained that the fiscal note included a proposal to lease office space in Wendover as well as the associated costs—the start-up costs for equipment, and the ongoing costs, such as utilities, rent, and salaries.
Addressing some of the aforementioned issues, Ms. Lewis stated the Department had examined the proximity of Wells and Jackpot to Wendover and compared it to the proximity of Wells and Jackpot to Elko. The conclusion had been reached that the distances were more or less equal, so it was difficult to determine if customers would travel to Elko or Wendover. Ms. Lewis explained the travel team went to Wendover for 12.5 hours every two months and performed an average of 40 transactions, all of which were driver’s license transactions. Ms. Lewis said the number of active vehicle registrations for the Wendover zip code was approximately 2,300. She pointed out there were other options for individuals besides visiting a field office—there was online renewal and mail renewal. Ms. Lewis conceded that the amount of office activity the office would have was unknown, but she stated that those services were important to the people in rural areas.
Mr. Carpenter interjected that if the DMV office was a feasible situation, it was possible that west Wendover would provide the office space and that would remove approximately $35,000 from the estimated budget.
Assemblywoman Chowning asked if opening the DMV office in Wendover would eliminate the problem of Nevada residents registering their vehicles and obtaining their driver’s licenses in Utah. She asked if those services cost less in Utah, and if Nevada residents would continue to break the law even with the DMV office in Wendover. Mr. Carpenter replied it was difficult to determine if it would have an effect, but he believed convenience was an important factor. In his opinion, it would be more convenient to cross the state line into Utah than it would be to travel 110 miles to Elko.
Assemblywoman Giunchigliani requested the number of special branch offices. In reply, Ms. Lewis listed Ely, Tonopah, Elko, Winnemucca, Hawthorne, Pahrump, Mesquite, and Laughlin as the special branch offices. Ms. Giunchigliani asked if there had been a policy regarding population or transactions that governed the placement of the special branch offices. Ms. Lewis responded there had not been a specific policy and she mentioned Hawthorne as an example. She explained that the Hawthorne office had been created by the 1999 Legislature because the assessor had chosen not to do business. Ms. Lewis pointed out that Hawthorne and Tonopah both had smaller populations than Wendover, and she explained that the offices had been created by legislation.
Ms. Giunchigliani asked if the majority of the business had been driver’s license transactions and if those were renewal or initial transactions. Ms. Lewis said the travel team traveled to Wendover and performed driver’s license functions exclusively. Ms. Giunchigliani requested a breakdown of services that showed whether the driver’s license transactions were initial licenses or renewals. Ms. Giunchigliani pointed out that renewal was available online, which might ease the burden on the travel team. She asked if the registration needs had been addressed. Ms. Lewis agreed to provide a report on first-time driver’s license transactions versus renewal transactions. She pointed out that online renewal could only be done once every eight years. Ms. Giunchigliani asked for statistics regarding the number of state identifications issued, and Ms. Lewis agreed to provide those statistics as well.
Ms. Giunchigliani clarified the duties of the travel team, asking whether or not the travel team had the capability to do more than driver’s license transactions. Ms. Lewis explained that the travel team had never done vehicle registration because there were too many forms and too many license plates for it to be a viable option. She also pointed out that the computer application necessary to perform that function had never been designed because of the logistical problems. Ms. Giunchigliani asked if the DMV computer system, Genesis, could be used. Ms. Lewis explained the Genesis system could be used, but it was the logistics that precluded the travel team from effectively performing registration transactions.
Ms. Giunchigliani commented that perhaps some of the forms should be eliminated. She asked if there were any titling needs for the rural areas. Ms. Lewis said there would always be the need for titles in the rural areas, and she explained if a title was particularly difficult it would be brought back to one of the main offices for processing.
Ms. Giunchigliani inquired about a pilot program wherein car dealers processed the paperwork for car buyers. Ms. Lewis indicated the pilot program had not been as successful as hoped. There had been two car dealers, Harley Davidson and Findlay, in Las Vegas. Harley Davidson had since terminated its contract, stating it had not been a cost-effective program. Ms. Lewis said the car dealerships were not interested in participating in the program to perform first‑time registration. Ms. Giunchigliani inquired as to whether it was the paperwork or the volume of registrations that was making it cost-prohibitive. Ms. Lewis said she had been told the car dealerships would have to hire an additional employee to perform that function rather than using the salesmen because the salesmen were more productive selling cars.
Ms. Lewis indicated she was finished, and Mr. Carpenter thanked the Committee for their consideration.
Chairman Arberry inquired whether there was any additional testimony to come before the Committee regarding A.B. 20 and hearing none, declared the hearing closed and indicated the Committee would hear testimony on A.B. 31.
Assembly Bill 31: Makes appropriation to Lincoln County for improvement of facilities at fairgrounds in Panaca. (BDR S-81)
Assemblyman Tom Collins, Assembly District No. 1, addressed the Committee in support of A.B. 31. Mr. Collins reminded the Committee that Clark County had originally been part of Lincoln County, and he stated that he was appearing before the Committee in regard to an economic development plan for Lincoln County that he hoped the Legislature would approve.
Mr. Collins said rural Nevada had been struggling economically for many years. He said the biggest employer in Lincoln County was the state of Nevada, and many of the residents of Alamo had to commute to Las Vegas for work. Mr. Collins indicated the state had funded a few projects in Lincoln County that included building a high school in Alamo in 1980, building three new classrooms at the high school in Panaca, and building an elementary school in Pioche. He explained the state of Nevada had paid for those projects because the original buildings were condemned and Lincoln County could not afford to fix them. Mr. Collins pointed out that the state had paid for similar projects throughout rural Nevada.
Mr. Collins said he was bringing a new project before the Committee. The project would be the development of the fairgrounds in Panaca, Nevada. Mr. Collins reminded the Committee that in the 2001 Legislative Session the County Commissioner, the Economic Development Director, and a former high school student who had competed in rodeos and 4-H, had testified before the Legislature regarding the need for an appropriation to improve the facilities at the fairgrounds in Panaca. Those three representatives of Lincoln County had talked about the high school rodeo in Panaca. Mr. Collins informed the Committee that Panaca had been unable to host the high school rodeo in 2002 due to the reasons that had been pointed out in 2001. The fairgrounds in Panaca did not have restrooms, cooking facilities, or bleachers. Those things had to be rented and set up by honor camp crews in the area. The cost of renting was prohibitive and made the events held at the fairgrounds unprofitable.
Mr. Collins reminisced about his own days as a rodeo contestant and said that in the 1970s approximately 300 people attended the rodeo at the fairgrounds in Logandale, Nevada. At that time, it was not an economic boost for Logandale, but in 1985 the Legislature had passed A.B. 660, appropriating $100,000 to the Clark County fairgrounds in Logandale. The Legislature had appropriated additional funds: $100,000 in 1991; $15,000 in 1993 with A.B. 830; and finally $250,000 in 1995. Mr. Collins pointed out that in 2002 over 70,000 people attended the Clark County fair. He explained that the fair had grown to the point where there was a rodeo and a carnival, livestock auctions and sales. In addition, quilts and craft items, plants, and agricultural products could be purchased. Those activities helped youth in the community get scholarships to attend college and advance their education. Mr. Collins indicated he would like to see a similar situation in Panaca.
Mr. Collins explained that Panaca had a small fairgrounds and if the Legislature would appropriate enough money to build restrooms, cooking facilities, additional corrals and panels, and bleachers, the county would no longer have to rent those items, and it would help the economy of Lincoln County. Mr. Collins pointed out that if Lincoln County’s economy were stronger and more self‑sufficient, there would be no need to ask the Legislature for additional funds. Mr. Collins referred to the aforementioned legislation and explained that two of the bills had been specifically designated for the Clark County fairgrounds and two of the bills were for statewide improvements, of which Clark County fairgrounds had received a portion.
Mr. Collins indicated he had a letter written by a former county commissioner of Lincoln County that listed reasons for funding the improvements. The letter reiterated much of what Mr. Collins had said with respect to the necessity of restrooms, cooking facilities, and bleachers. The letter also mentioned the local businesses would be helped by increased tourism. Mr. Collins informed the Committee the cost would be $136,250.
Chairman Arberry asked how many bleachers could be provided for $136,000. Mr. Collins said the money would provide the traditional rodeo bleachers, which would seat several hundred people. In response to Chairman Arberry’s question regarding a one-shot appropriation, Mr. Collins confirmed that he was requesting a one-shot appropriation. Chairman Arberry asked if the county would be receiving help from any other sources, and if so, who would be providing that help. Mr. Collins responded that the local business community, along with sponsors and individual donors, had already done much of the work at the fairgrounds and would continue to do so. Chairman Arberry asked if the local government would be providing funds, and Mr. Collins replied Lincoln County had a room tax and a portion of that went to improvements at the fairgrounds. Chairman Arberry asked if Lincoln County would be able to provide a portion of the $136,000 requested. Mr. Collins assured the Committee that the County would be helping by providing materials and labor, but the money requested from the Legislature was for structural items. Mr. Collins then reminded the Committee of the presence of the Lincoln County commissioners and said they would be better able to address those questions.
Assemblywoman Chowning remarked that economic development and tourism were important to the county, and she inquired if state agencies, such as the Tourism Commission and the Economic Development Commission, had been approached by Lincoln County for funds to aid in that project. Mr. Collins replied that the representatives from Lincoln County would be better able to address that question. Mr. Collins said he had been working with Hugh Ricci, the State Engineer for the State Environmental Commission, on other issues for Lincoln County, specifically water quality. He reiterated Lincoln County had been working with the Tourism Commission and other agencies, as well as the Lieutenant Governor, who chaired the Commission on Tourism. Mrs. Chowning asked if there had been a response from those agencies. She asked Mr. Collins if the amount requested was the same as that requested in 2001. Mr. Collins replied that his request in 2001 had included appropriations for improvements in Caliente at another facility. He pointed out A.B. 31 did not include Caliente and had been reduced to reflect that omission. Mrs. Chowning clarified that the Panaca fairground portion was the same. Mr. Collins indicated he had the exact figures at his office, but he pointed out the previous request had included an identical sum for Caliente as well as a few smaller items that had been eliminated in that request due to the restrictive budget. Mrs. Chowning remarked that the Committee did not want to duplicate dollars, so it would be helpful to know the response from other agencies.
Mr. Collins pointed out that previous bills allocating money for rural projects had been supported by Chairman Arberry, Ms. Giunchigliani, and Mr. Marvel. Mr. Collins presented some final items to the Committee. He said Lincoln County, with the current facilities, would be unable to host the state high school rodeo finals. The finals would be five days instead of two and would bring Lincoln County approximately three times the usual volume of visitors. Mr. Collins pointed out that the other reason for the need for cooking facilities at the fairgrounds was that the city of Panaca did not have a restaurant. Tourists would have to travel 20 miles to Pioche or Caliente. Mr. Collins said the improved facilities would allow the County to bring in events and activities in addition to the fair and rodeo, which would raise revenue. Mr. Collins said he would appreciate the Committee’s support and would be happy to answer questions or provide additional material.
Mr. Marvel asked what the population of Panaca was. Mr. Collins replied it was approximately 900 people and Lincoln County was approximately 4,000 people. He stated that there was road access to Panaca and the roads led to cities in Utah, specifically Enterprise, Cedar City, and St. George.
In response to a question posed by Mr. Marvel, Mr. Collins confirmed Panaca had a high school. Mr. Collins pointed out the Legislature had assisted Panaca in the past with building classrooms. Mr. Marvel asked if Panaca had a rodeo team, and Mr. Collins said that Panaca had, in his opinion, a very good rodeo team.
Speaker Perkins asked what the overall budget for the project would be, and Mr. Collins said the proposed budget was $136,250. Speaker Perkins noted the $136,250 in the request, and asked if Mr. Collins knew the additional amount that would be provided by other sources. Mr. Collins said he did not know. Speaker Perkins asked if the project would be built commercially or if the county had checked with the honor camps in the area to see if their services could be utilized. Mr. Collins responded that Lincoln County utilized the honor camps and would not have been able to do what had been done up to that point without using the honor camps. He opined that Lincoln County used the honor camps as well as any other rural community and said the honor camps helped the County every time an event was held at the fairgrounds. Speaker Perkins asked if the project was being considered for commercial construction or if the honor camps or the community would be providing construction help. Mr. Collins replied that it would be a combination of local contractors, volunteer groups, and the honor camps. He said the $136,250 amount was primarily for materials. Speaker Perkins said he recognized the budget difficulties but voiced his support for the rural communities in Nevada as well as a desire to help if possible. Mr. Collins thanked the Committee for their consideration.
Spencer Hafen, Chairman of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners, addressed the Committee in support of A.B. 31. Mr. Hafen reemphasized points presented by Assemblyman Collins, namely that the current fairgrounds did not have the facilities necessary to hold events. Mr. Hafen said that if Lincoln County received the money to build facilities that would allow the various groups using the fairgrounds to use the money raised for other improvements rather than spend it on rental of bleachers, restrooms, and cooking facilities.
Mrs. Chowning referred to her earlier question and asked if Lincoln County had approached the Economic Development Commission and the Tourism Commission for help with the project. Mr. Hafen stated he believed those Commissions had been approached and said the County contacted them often in regard to those types of projects. He assured the Committee he would verify that the Commissions had been approached. Mrs. Chowning said the Committee needed to know if that had been actively pursued and if they had been turned down or if help was forthcoming.
Assemblyman Rod Sherer, Assembly District No. 36, spoke to the Committee and voiced his support for A.B. 31. He mentioned he spent time in the rural areas and said Lincoln County had done a good job with a very limited budget, pointing out the County had built a school for less than the amount budgeted. He said Lincoln County had been taking care of the community without any state money. Mr. Sherer reemphasized that Lincoln County, comprised of Panaca, Pioche, and Caliente, was a great community that worked together and needed help from the Legislature. Mr. Sherer thanked the Committee members for their consideration.
Chairman Arberry asked if there was any additional testimony, hearing none, he closed the hearing on A.B. 31.
Chairman Arberry indicated the Committee would hear the conclusion of the budget presentation from the Department of Personnel.
DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL (717-1363) – BUDGET PAGE PERSNL-1
Jeanne Greene, Director, Department of Personnel, presented the budget for the Department of Personnel to the Committee. She said she had brought Kim Foster, Administrative Services Officer for the Department of Personnel.
Ms. Greene said before she began her presentation, she would like to address a prior question from Assemblyman Hettrick regarding a possible delay in occupational studies. Ms. Greene explained the occupational studies had been started in October, and there had been approximately 30 meetings with agency administrators and subject-matter experts. She said that she had indicated previously there were three staff members who worked on occupational studies, but she clarified that the three staff members had additional duties, making it approximately 1.5 full-time equivalent employees devoted to the occupational studies. She opined that based on the time and resources already expended, the studies could not be delayed two years.
Ms. Greene began with decision unit E-277, which was the Certified Public Managers (CPM) Program, and she directed the Committee to page 10 in the Budget Presentation to the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means (Exhibit C). She said the program was a nationally recognized leadership development program for public managers and supervisors. Twenty-nine states currently participated in that accredited program, which had been established in 1979. The program would provide formal training to develop employee competencies in leading individuals and groups, understanding organizational systems and cultures, knowledge of state government infrastructure and trends, and self-management and personal development.
Ms. Greene explained the program would require a total of 310 hours before an individual could become certified, and that required a number of examinations that the individual would be required to pass. She said the benefits of the program included:
Ms. Greene informed the Committee she had applied for membership in the consortium of states in the CPM Program, and Mississippi had been designated as a mentor state. She indicated that she had received a letter from the Director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board (Exhibit C). The Director had written that the CPM Program was the most important approach to improve the functioning of state government. The Director stated that the CPM Program allowed for the training of a cross-section of state employees in the management competencies, which were required to deliver quality services to citizens of the state.
Ms. Greene reported that an individual from her office had gone to Mississippi to review the program. That individual had met with several members of Mississippi’s governing board, including the legislative auditor and a number of members of the Legislature, and they were all very supportive of the program. Ms. Greene asked if there were any questions. Hearing none, she moved to the next enhancement unit in the budget.
Decision unit E-278 provided training for the chairman and vice chairman of the Employee Management Committee. Ms. Greene said that would allow the chairman and vice chairman to attend training for conducting administrative hearings at the National Judicial College. She informed the Committee E-278 was a one-time expenditure.
Ms. Greene continued her presentation and directed the Committee’s attention to decision unit E-279 on page 14 in the Budget Presentation to the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means (Exhibit C). Decision unit E-279 provided money for panic buttons in three areas: the employee assistance program area, the room for administering written tests, and the main reception area. She said the $2,394 was a one-time cost in FY2004, and there would be a yearly fee of $1,032.
Ms. Greene directed attention to page 15 (Exhibit C) and said the Department of Personnel was requesting money for additional office space. She said there would be 2,612 square feet of vacant space in the Blasdel Building, and her department was asking to be able to use that space to expand the applicant testing room, provide a conference room for meetings and oral examinations, and provide office space for the Harassment/Discrimination Unit.
Kim Foster, Administrative Services Officer, Department of Personnel, addressed the next item. Ms. Foster presented decision unit E-281 regarding a document imaging system. Ms. Foster explained E-281 was a technology improvement project for a digital imaging and indexing system of employee service file documents. The project would allow the records section to upgrade the existing microfilm method of maintaining employee service files to digital imaging on compact discs. Ms. Foster said it also would upgrade existing software used to index and store locations of documents currently on microfilm. Ms. Foster pointed out that the records section sent approximately 200,000 employee documents each year to the Department of Cultural Affairs micrographic section for microfilming. When the film was returned, specialized software was used to index the records for retrieval. Ms. Foster said that form of documents storage and retrieval limited accessibility, particularly when the requestor was at a different location. That meant copies had to be made and sent to the requestor’s location. Ms. Foster explained that the enhancement unit would save time and travel costs because currently individuals who needed to look into employee documents had to travel to the records section location, pull the records off microfilm, and copy them on reader printers. For outside areas, that would have to be done through the mail. Ms. Foster pointed out the system would allow the records section to look up the information and electronically send it to the users.
Ms. Greene continued and presented decision unit E-282, Equal Employment Opportunity training. She explained that E-282 was connected to E-276, which was the Investigation Unit. Ms. Greene explained the enhancement would increase a part-time Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) officer to full time and would provide additional travel and material costs, allowing the Department to do more sexual harassment training in the rural areas of Nevada.
Ms. Greene referred to page 18 (Exhibit C) and presented E-285, which dealt with workforce planning. Ms. Greene informed the Committee that within the next five years, nearly 40 percent of the state’s overall workforce would be eligible to retire. The impact would be particularly significant for the state’s executive, managerial, and professional ranks as many of the employees in those areas would reach retirement eligibility status. Ms. Greene pointed out that Nevada’s population growth would continue to fuel the demand for well-trained personnel in the areas of law enforcement, engineering, accounting, health care and technology. Ms. Greene explained that not only would the state be replacing significant numbers of retiring workers, it would be doing so at a time when the overall need for labor in state service would most likely be expanding. Ms. Greene referred to a chart (Exhibit C) and said Nevada would be losing approximately 45 percent of administrative employees by 2008. She explained she was requesting funds to hire a consultant to assist in completing the first three steps in workforce planning:
· Step I: Develop a profile of Nevada’s most critical workforce needs as they relate to the long-range business plans of the agencies most severely impacted by the pending workforce shortage.
· Step II: Strategically assess the skills and competencies needed for the future, compare the current workforce to the future workforce, and identify the imbalances.
· Step III: Develop a workforce plan that includes practical competency assessment tools as well as specific strategies and actions with which to resolve projected gaps in staffing and skill levels.
Ms. Greene indicated that in 2005 funds would be used to begin implementation of the plan’s specific strategies and actions pertaining to the development, recruitment, and retention of employees that had specialized skills in the most critical areas. She said no ongoing costs were anticipated.
In response to a question from Chairman Arberry regarding working conditions, Ms. Greene explained that the Department was not looking at working conditions, rather it was determining what the needs of the agencies would be in five years. Ms. Greene said workforce planning would identify needed skill areas and identify a means of recruiting and training employees in those areas.
Ms. Foster presented decision unit E-710. She explained the decision unit contained computer hardware replacement and software upgrades. Ms. Foster said that the Department followed the guidelines from the Department of Information Technology (DoIT) for computer replacement, categorizing most of the users as “mainstream technology users,” which required replacement of equipment every four years, resulting in a 25 percent replacement each year. Ms. Foster acknowledged the need to limit spending, and she said the Department of Personnel had reviewed the existing users and extended some of them out to a six-year replacement schedule, cutting costs in that area. Ms. Foster said the software upgrades being requested were limited to the most critical needs, such as anti-virus software and software used by the central word processing staff responsible for processing department-wide jobs.
Ms. Foster presented the last two decision units, E-901 and E-910, which were costs being transferred into the Department for the Integrated Financial System‑Human Resources (IFS-HR) project. Ms. Foster addressed decision unit E-901 and stated it was a transfer of a Program Officer I position from the Department of Information Technology (DoIT) Budget Account 1385 to the Department of Personnel. She explained that the position worked full time performing the duties of the IFS-HR help desk. The support that position provided to system users related more to system functionality than to technical hardware and software issues. She informed the Committee the transfer of the position had been agreed to by both the Department of Personnel and the Department of Information Technology.
Decision unit E-910, Ms. Foster explained, contained the transfer of the IFS-HR system operating costs from the Department of Administration to the Department of Personnel. Ms. Foster stated that the implementation of the IFS‑HR program would be completed at the end of FY2003. She said the development costs were funded by the Department of Administration and she said operating costs had been moved into the budgets of the Department to put them in a location where they would be more centralized. Ms. Foster stated that E-910 was transferring those operating costs into the Department of Personnel’s budget.
Chairman Arberry inquired as to whether the position transferred from the Department of Information Technology in decision unit E-901 would still be performing the same duties, and Ms. Foster confirmed that was the case.
Assemblyman Beers asked how many users there were in the Department of Personnel for which the transferred position would be responsible. Ms. Foster explained the IFS-HR help desk supported the whole state on the IFS-HR system, which would be 960 users. Mr. Beers confirmed that amount was the amount of users on the IFS-HR portion rather than the entire system. He asked if the help desk position did training as well. Ms. Foster said there were other positions that performed the training function. Mr. Beers inquired how the training was going, and Ms. Foster replied that it was going very well.
In response to a question posed by Mr. Beers regarding workload, Ms. Foster said she did not have the statistics as to how many calls the help desk received, but she would get those for him. Mr. Beers asked if having the Integrated Financial System as its own separate department rather than placing the IFS human resource payroll person in one department and the IFS accounts payable person in another department had been considered. Ms. Foster explained that the Department had tried a joint help desk for the financial system and the human resource system, but it had not worked very well because the two portions of the system were different and the help desk person had to have specific skills and knowledge for each portion. She said it would still be a centralized unit for the complete Integrated Financial System. Ms. Foster introduced Dave McTeer, the IFS project manager, and said he would address Mr. Beers’ questions in more detail.
Dave McTeer, the IFS project manager for the Department of Administration, offered additional information to the Committee. He explained that when the help desk had been envisioned and the positions had been approved, it was thought that the help desk would be more technically oriented. Mr. McTeer indicated that had not been the case, the questions tended to be functional rather than technical. He pointed out that the position being moved to the state Controller’s Office handled financial questions, while the position being moved to the Department of Personnel handled payroll and human resource questions. The two positions had been unable to back each other up due to the specific nature of the knowledge required in each area. Mr. McTeer explained that as the positions were program officers as opposed to technicians, it had been decided, in conjunction with the state Controller’s Office and the Department of Personnel, it would be better to maintain separate positions and put them in the associated groups. He said the two positions would work with the trainers as Ms. Foster indicated, but they would not do the training themselves.
In response to Mr. Beers’ question regarding cost, Mr. McTeer explained the project had cost $50 million over three bienniums. Mr. Beers said as the project went forward he would have expected to see an increase in efficiency, eliminating much of the clerical work. He asked if that was the case. Mr. McTeer replied there had been some work eliminated as the system became more efficient, but there were problems, such as staff turnover and password problems. Mr. McTeer explained that there were very strict controls on passwords, particularly on the human resource side due to confidentiality issues, and the help desks received many calls from employees who had forgotten their passwords and needed access to the system. He said the serious problems had been addressed with training, and the system had been implemented in all the agencies, with the exception of the Department of Personnel. Mr. McTeer indicated the implementation would be completed in June 2003.
Mr. Beers suggested the field services offices in the north and in the south develop a different system for dealing with things like forgotten passwords. He asked if the departments had contemplated maintaining a list of passwords for which the managers of the field offices would be responsible. Mr. Beers observed the help desk position could then be eliminated. In reply, Mr. McTeer said he could not address Department of Personnel issues in the field services offices, but he pointed out there was also staff turnover and occasionally there were system problems. Mr. McTeer explained that the Integrated Financial System consisted of three separate systems tied together. He said it was a very complicated system with local area and wide area networks and agencies working together. Mr. McTeer explained that he would be outlining IFS in more detail when the Department of Administration presented Budget Account 1320. Mr. McTeer remarked it could be very difficult to determine why an individual could not get into the system, so the help desk worked to assess if there was a computer problem in an agency, a local area network problem, a major communications system problem, or a problem with the Integrated Financial System itself. Mr. McTeer reiterated that the job of the help desk was to focus on the nature of the problems so the problems could be resolved.
Mr. Beers surmised that computerizing those processes should mean a decrease in positions among the clerical, accounting, and human resources staff. He pointed out that was the usual occurrence in the private sector because the elimination of positions and the costs associated with those positions was the payoff for the investment in the system. Mr. McTeer responded that he could not comment on that as he did not know what the agencies were planning. Mr. McTeer said it was reasonable to expect some staff reduction, but he did not know if that would actually happen.
Ms. Foster interjected that the IFS-HR staff operating the system were also completing two other systems. One system, called Nevada Employee Action Timekeeping System (NEATS), would allow employees to enter their timesheets online. Ms. Foster indicated it was a pilot program that was being reviewed. She explained that procedures would have to be written and training would have to be given in order to use NEATS effectively. Thus, staff would be needed to go to the various agencies and provide training. Ms. Foster said the Department of Personnel was going to be completing an online training registration system and tracking system at the end of FY2003. She indicated the implementation of that system would require training as well. Ms. Foster added that the Department was in the final stage of completing a human resources data warehouse, and training and help would be needed on that system as well. She said the system had many uses and the agencies would need to be instructed so as to use it effectively.
Mr. McTeer pointed out that it had been discovered through the course of the implementation of the Integrated Financial System that an unfunded mandate to use the IFS had been placed on the agencies as functions were decentralized. He gave the example of timesheet entry, which had been done in a central location by the Department of Personnel through the Department of Information Technology. Mr. McTeer said when the system had been implemented and that procedure had changed so that the individual departments were doing their own timesheets, some of the agencies had wanted to use that new mandate in order to justify asking for new positions. Mr. McTeer stated NEATS had been developed to alleviate such problems. NEATS would allow the employees to enter their timesheets and the supervisors to approve the timesheets online. Mr. McTeer informed the Committee the “training tracking course registration” module would be ready by the end of FY2003. Mr. McTeer reiterated steps had been taken to train agencies in the functionality of the systems so they would not ask for more positions.
Ms. Foster mentioned two positions from the IFS-HR were being moved into two new programs, the Certified Public Managers (CPM) Program and the Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Investigation Unit. Chairman Arberry asked if there were any other questions or comments regarding the budget accounts presented by the Department of Personnel. There were none.
Chairman Arberry informed the Committee that the State Treasurer, Brian Krolicki, had requested that he be allowed to make his presentation of the requested cash flow analysis at a later date as he was not ready. Chairman Arberry said Mr. Krolicki would be presenting the requested analysis to the Committee on Monday, February 17, 2003. Chairman Arberry adjourned the meeting at 10:16 a.m.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
Susan Cherpeski
Committee Secretary
APPROVED BY:
Assemblyman Morse Arberry Jr., Chairman
DATE: