November 17, 2009
LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced plans to merge the departments of Management and Budget (DMB) and Information Technology (DIT) to form a single department that further integrates information technology into the administrative services currently provided by DMB and DIT. Kenneth Theis, current director of DIT, will oversee the consolidation of the two departments and will ultimately be named director of the new department.
The governor's announcement follows the appointment late Monday of DMB Director Lisa Webb Sharpe as senior vice president for finance and administration at Lansing Community College.
"We are continuing to reform, restructure, and streamline state government," Granholm said. "This merger also reflects the enormous role of technology in streamlining government and serving our citizens. By combining these departments, we are building on our work of pursuing every efficiency. With this announcement, our efforts will have resulted in the net elimination of five state departments and nearly 200 boards and commissions. And we will continue to streamline."
When Granholm took office, she inherited a state government that had grown to the constitutional maximum of 20 state departments. With today's announcement, the number of state departments will total 15, a 25 percent reduction since 2003.
In her 2009 State of the State address, Governor Granholm asked Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, Jr. to lead a comprehensive effort to create a state government that provides better service at less cost to taxpayers. The governor requested a plan to reduce the total number of state departments to eight, bringing long-term structural change and savings to the executive branch of government.
Today's announcement is a further result of the lieutenant governor's work, which has identified eight core functions of state government. Since May, the lieutenant governor and his workgroup have sought input from legislators, state employees and the public on what services a restructured and streamlined government should provide.
"There is an expectation across the state that we must refocus our efforts on state government's core functions and how best to provide necessary services and protect the fundamental rights of Michigan citizens," Cherry said. "The governor's decision to move forward in merging these two departments is consistent not only with our findings, but our recommendation. It also recognizes the critical role technology plays in government streamlining."
Theis has served as chief information officer and director of DIT since 2007. Prior to that appointment, he was chief deputy director and COO of DIT. He has been with the state of Michigan since 1999.
Upon Webb Sharpe's departure from state government, the governor will appoint Phyllis Mellon, chief deputy director of DIT, to serve as director of DMB on a temporary basis until an executive order facilitating the merger of DMB and DIT is issued and takes effect. Robert L. Emerson will continue to serve as the state budget director and the Office of the State Budget will not be affected by the merger.
In making the announcement, Governor Granholm offered praise for Webb Sharpe's leadership first as the governor's Cabinet secretary and policy director, and most recently as director of the Department of Management and Budget.
"As one of my original appointees, Lisa Webb Sharpe has been an advisor whom I have counted on time and again," Granholm said. "From helping us reduce our energy costs to bringing transparency to the contracting process, she has been instrumental in helping us improve state government for citizens. We wish her every success in her new position at Lansing Community College."
The governor appointed Webb Sharpe to lead DMB in August 2005. The department's more than 800 employees provide purchasing, fleet management, printing, financial services, facilities management, real estate, design and construction, and retirement services. Under the Granholm administration, DMB has achieved nearly $3 billion in savings and cost avoidance through a variety of efficiency measures, leveraged purchasing power, energy use reduction initiatives, retirement changes and strong internal controls.
In 2008, Webb Sharpe received the National Governors Association Award for Distinguished Service to State Government, was designated as one of Crain's Detroit Business's "Women to Watch," and was honored with the Michigan Business and Professional Association's Women in the Workplace Leadership Award.
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