Republican uncommitted on Governor’s proposal to re-organize government

Republican legislative leaders say they’re “intrigued” by the latest government reorganization idea from democrat Governor Tom Vilsack. Vilsack suggests combining the Departments of Personnel, Information Technology, General Services and the Iowa Communications Network, plus some of the accounting functions in the Department of Revenue and Finance into one agency. It’d be called the Department of Asset Management. Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson of Dows says he’s “certainly in agreement with the concept.” But Iverson says he doesn’t know enough about the plan yet to give an opinion. Iverson says he has some questions, however. He wants to know of the move makes a smaller and more efficient government and will it keep from creating more friction down the road.Iverson says republicans have consolidation ideas of their own, but ran into opposition from the agency directors the democrat Governor hired. Iverson says as a result, it’s best that Vilsack make the government streamlining proposals himself, as he’s the boss of those government workers. Vilsack suggests the combined “Department of Asset Management” would save three million dollars as some administrators would be laid-off and some services would be streamlined.