November 20, 1974
Page 36723
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PERSONNEL ACT
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, recently, Gov. Mike O'Callaghan of Nevada addressed a conference in Emeryville, Calif., praising the merits of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act.
Governor O'Callaghan describes numerous achievements and reports that as a result of IPA "there is a much higher degree of cooperation and a much-improved relationship between State and local government in Nevada."
The burden carried by government below the Federal level grows constantly. Citizen demands for better educational systems, improved transportation, clean air, and unpolluted water, more and better recreation facilities as well as increased health care and hospital services place an increased strain on the capacity of State and local government to assume its full share of responsibility for public services today. I commend to my colleagues in the Senate Governor O'Callaghan's speech as a worthy illustration of the progress that is being made under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act to improve and strengthen the administration of State and local governments and to assist them in dealing more effectively with their personnel problems. I ask unanimous consent that this speech be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the speech was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows
REMARKS BY GOV. MIKE O'CALLAHAN TO REGIONAL CONFERENCE
It is an honor for me to be here. It is an honor to represent the State of Nevada, whose Personnel Division – by numbers a small Division in a small State – is nationally recognized for its achievements in improving personnel management.
The achievements are many, and the level of the achievements is high. But what it all comes down to ... is getting the most worth out of precious tax dollars.
Dollars don't go as far as they used to. And all of us in Government are being put out on the point, and told to produce.
Well, frankly, I think that's good advice, whether you're in Government or elsewhere.
And when about sixty-five percent of the total cost of Government is in personnel, we'd better produce, all of us.
Some of you here – I hope most of you, for the sake of Nevada's tourism industry – know our State and our people. Nevadans are a tough, independent breed and they demand results. We're still a small State by population, a very personal State, and our public administrators face a lot of pressure in the form of public scrutiny. Maybe that's one reason that Jim Wittenberg, my Personnel Division Administrator, does such a superb job. If he doesn't, he can be sure that Nevadans, everywhere I go in the State, are going to be telling me about an inadequate performance.
Instead, I'm told by Nevadans throughout the State about the fine work our Personnel Division is doing for local public agencies. The support for this fine work is the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, and I want to mention today a few of the dividends of the IPA investment in Nevada.
The IPA recognized the critical need of state and local governments to strengthen personnel management programs, and to enhance cooperation in the programs among all levels of governments. This need grows every day, as state and local responsibilities grow.
For Nevada, IPA has provided grants for training, test validation, cooperative personnel services, work performance standards and affirmative action. All of these areas, as you well know, are under the gun for improvement. They are Nevada's personnel management priority needs. And without IPA, our needs may not have been met.
But there is IPA and as a result, there is a much higher degree of cooperation and a much- improved relationship between State and local government in Nevada. This is a strong tribute to Federal, State and Local officials who had an important role in IPA accomplishments.
I was so personally impressed with the accomplishments – and the accomplishments to come – that last year by special proclamation I declared October 28 as "IPA Day" in Nevada. My proclamation was issued as a sincere gesture to recognize the benefits of IPA to our State, and to emphasize to all our citizens that good public personnel administration is the main ingredient in the effective delivery of public services.
With the award only a month ago of the latest IPA grant to Nevada, our total Federal funds through IPA has reached three hundred and five thousand, five hundred dollars.
Not a large amount of money, as grants go, but believe me, it is most welcome in Nevada, and it has helped us attain some important objectives. We are very proud of the fact that our overhead for our total IPA grants has been under ten percent.
This is one of the reasons that Nevada has received national recognition for achievements in improving personnel management. As you know, Nevada is the designated State from Region Nine ... for the Presidential Level Goal on Comprehensive Personnel Management Improvement.
The overall action plan developed by the Nevada IPA staff aims at twenty-five specific improvement projects over the next twenty months. These projects include our priority needs, and I'd like to tell you now how far down the road we are on these projects.
One of the most important programs under IPA is the Cooperative Personnel Services Project. The majority of IPA funds granted to Nevada has been utilized in Cooperative Personnel Services. Nevada law provides that the State Personnel Division make its services available to local Governments on request, and such requests have resulted in numerous joint efforts between State and local governments to meet today's challenges in personnel management. Through IPA funding, the cost of such efforts and services to local governments has been greatly reduced, and personnel management at local levels has become more effective.
Incidentally, it sometimes happens that small amounts of seed money – such as the IPA funds we have received in Nevada – can trigger such impressive results that it can lead to State funding, when the executive and legislative branches see a good track record. In effect, IPA grants can be parlayed into State support.
Test validation is another of our priority needs, and Nevada is about one-fourth the way through this IPA project. We have established an examination research function in Nevada, which followed our entering into a bi-state agreement with the California Selection Consulting Center. Through the Center's assistance, Nevada has developed its own staff consultants, and our people can now offer training and technical guidance to local governments in the State.
Another of our priority needs is affirmative action. For the past several months, we've zeroed in on this one. And within the next thirty to sixty days, our affirmative action plan will be finalized., with timetables and solid goals.
My top priority among the critical needs being met by IPA funding was placed on work performance standards. I issued an executive order that all of the State's fifty-three operating agencies ... develop and implement work performance standards for each classified job in State Government. This massive project over the past nine months will be successfully completed by the end of this month. And by June of next year, all classified State employees ... as well as a large portion of Nevada's local public employees will be subject to work performance standards.
The dividends of this IPA investment almost defy measurement because it's a measurement of quality. Quality is what we're after ... and reward for quality.
The valid criticism of most public personnel systems is that, in the past, individual performance standards have been virtually non-existent. In many cases, current systems encourage less work ... rather than more . . . because outstanding performance is not given any higher recognition than average or mediocre performance. This stifles workers' incentive and innovation. It reduces productivity and fosters less effective Government.
The public – the taxpayers – will not stand for this. So we simply must have change which brings about improvement in the system.
In the future for Nevada's work performance standards are further refinements. To continually improve the quality of the delivery of services to the public, we will broaden the current incentive system so that superb performance is given the recognition it richly deserves.
We have our eye on monetary rewards, as well as other forms of recognition for hard and effective work. For instance, certain members of the State workforce must, for the protection of the public, be on duty on such days as Christmas. We are looking at the possible incentive of rewarding the top few performers in these professions ... with Christmas Day off.
Now, this may not seem like much to those of us who have Christmas Day off. But rest assured, if you had to work that day every year – if you were unable to spend Christmas, of all days, with your family ... then having Christmas Day off would seem the best possible recognition you could have for excellent work.
We are striving for career incentives for merit, as opposed to incentives merely for time put into the job.
Some other key people in Nevada's IPA projects are also here today ... George Earnhart and Mitch Brust of my IPA staff, and Don Dawson, Chairman of my IPA Committee in Nevada. Don's the city manager in Henderson, my old stomping grounds near Las Vegas. He's certainly one local government official in Nevada who's had direct benefits from IPA through the Joint Wage and Salary Survey.
Before I conclude my remarks, I must mention that Don, Jim Wittenberg and IPA staffers have told me of a startling development. It boggles the mind. It's unheard of. But they tell me ... that the IPA grant process doesn't involve a mountain of paperwork and red tape.
Now, that's progress. My hat is certainly off to the IPA staff of the Regional United States Civil Service Commission, and to the exceptional direction of Asa Briley.
My hat is off to the concept, the results, and the future of IPA and good personnel management. The dividends of the IPA investment in Nevada represent what I am convinced is an excellent return on tax dollars, a giant step forward in the efficient delivery of services, and a plan to give outstanding public employees the distinction they have earned.
Thank you.