During 1993, we performed an assessment for the Bureau of State Audits of the effectiveness of the DTSC's implementation of the Hazardous Waste Source Reduction and Management Review Act of 1989, including statutes and regulations governing the program, processes used to reduce generation of hazardous waste, and performance in terms of achieving a net reduction in hazardous waste generation. As part of the assessment, a major statewide mail survey was developed and disseminated to more than 2,000 generators to obtain customer input regarding the Department's performance. Also, interviews and telephone surveys of customers and other stakeholders were performed.
Services Performed: Program Planning and Evaluation
During 1994, we completed an engagement to (1) develop and implement the first statewide trial court budget development process, and (2) prepare a fully documented statewide Trial Court Budget Package for inclusion in the Governor's FY 1994/95 Budget (State funding for trial courts previously was provided through block grants to each of the State's 58 counties, and trial court budgeting processes were carried out at the local level). The scope of the engagement encompassed more than 16,000 court employees at 169 superior, municipal, justice, and consolidated courts. The focus of the engagement was on establishing and implementing a process for annually collecting line item financial and non-financial information from each individual court which was needed to develop a defensible aggregate budget request. As part of this project, we performed and documented numerous policy and issue analyses, and presented results of these analyses to AOC executives and the 26-member Trial Court Budget Commission (TCBC). Subsequent efforts focused primarily on documenting the budget process that was previously implemented. We also performed on-site reviews and critical analyses of operations at trial courts in a number of small counties and provided assistance in developing the FY1995/96 Budget Package.
Services Performed: Program Planning and Evaluation, Workload and Staffing Analysis, Budgeting and Accounting
During 1996, we were engaged to conduct an assessment of the feasibility of restructuring the Department's Vessel Registration Program. At the time, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) operated the Vessel Registration Program and charged the Department of Boating and Waterways about $1 million per year for this service. We reviewed DMV's services and performed a detailed analysis of DMV's costs and allocation methodology. Also, we conducted a survey of vessel registration programs in other states. Results of the assessment showed that DMV was over-allocating about $0.5 million in costs to the program (which DMV agreed to reduce). Assuming this lower level of charge-backs, various restructuring alternatives, such as transferring the service to a private sector firm, were determined not to be as advantages as continuing to use DMV to provide vessel registration services. Finally, a portfolio of improvement initiatives was developed to enhance the DMV's registration services.
Services Performed: Program Planning and Evaluation, Organizational Alignment and Restructuring, Workload and Staffing Analysis, Business Process Reengineering, Budgeting and Accounting
During 1996, we were engaged to determine the potential amount of any funds that might be recovered from Sunrise Energy, the State's largest natural gas supplier. Sunrise Energy had declared bankruptcy, and had collected but failed to remit millions of dollars in administrative fees to the Department of General Services that it had collected from a multiplicity of State agencies and departments. Results of the review indicated that little if any of the fees could be recovered because the State had authorized payment of Sunrise Energy's invoices to a third party financial services firm.
Services Performed: Budgeting and Accounting
Over a five-year period extending through the late-1990s, we performed a series of engagements for the Department of General Services involving restructuring and reengineering of statewide goods and services acquisition processes. Our initial efforts focused on assessing and analyzing current procurement and contracting processes, and developing a portfolio of more that 150 specific improvement initiatives and associated implementation plans. Subsequent efforts included (1) developing a comprehensive Procurement Reform bill, (2) abolishing the Central Stores warehousing/redistribution operation, (3) expanding the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) and Master Service Agreement (MSA) Programs, (4) reorganizing the DGS' Procurement Division, (5) merging the DGS' Office of Information Services with the Procurement Division, (6) defining new information technology systems, (7) developing baseline performance metrics and processes for ongoing performance measurement, (8) developing a Major Acquisition Program Guide that establishes a framework for identifying, assessing, and managing the acquisition of complex technology projects, (9) developing a structured program for strengthening statewide capability and competency in conducting and managing acquisitions, and (10) conducting a broad range of communication and organizational change management activities.
Services Performed: Program Planning and Evaluation, Organizational Alignment and Restructuring, Business Process Reengineering