Governor Tom Vilsack wants to merge a handful of state agencies into a new Department of Administrative Services. The Governor would meld the Departments of General Services, Information Technology and Personnel into one, and add in the Iowa Communications Network as well as part of the Department of Revenue and Finance. Ron Parker, the Governor’s press secretary, says the agencies are similar in focus. Parker says the agencies are primarily designed to make the machinery of state government operate more efficiently, and the proposal would streamline those services, saving taxpayers money. Vilsack presented a similar idea to legislators this past spring, but lawmakers balked, saying they didn’t have enough time to review the idea and weren’t sure it’d save that much money. Vilsack resubmitted his updated plan to the Legislature’s Oversight Committee yesterday afternoon.
