Commission to Study the Management of State Government records
Scope and Content
Includes agency program reviews and consultants' reports.
Dates
- 1989-1990
Language of Materials
The records are in English.
Restrictions on Access
These records are stored at an off-site facility and therefore may not be available on a same-day basis.
See the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections policy.
Restrictions on Use
See the Reproduction and Publications of State Library Collections policy.
Historical Note
The General Assembly created the 23-member Commission in 1989 to conduct a comprehensive study of state government. The commission had a budget of $4 million for staff and consultants. Governor William A. O'Neill appointed DeRoy C. Thomas, president of ITT Corp. as chair. Thomas had chaired an earlier study commission on restructuring the state's higher education system whose recommendations had strongly impressed the Governor. The rest of the membership consisted of political appointees, state budget and personnel officials, members of the General Assembly and their appointees. Mary Polci, an OPM planning analyst, was the project's executive director.
By the end of the Commission's work in early 1991, the consultants' reports filled two legal size file drawers and claimed proposed savings of more than $500 million a year. Two members, John Olsen, president of the State AFL-CIO and Rep Linda Emmons, R-Madison, complained that most consultants ignored the mandate to suggest ways to improve state services and focused exclusively on cutting expenditures or raising revenue. Others complained that the savings projections were overblown. Chairman Thomas said it didn't matter whether the state achieved the exact amount of savings just that the recommendations improved state operations and produced some savings.
Aside from the specific cost cutting and revenue enhancement recommendations for existing agencies, the Commission called for the creation of an independent agency to centralize information technology functions and the appointment of a chief operating officer to handle the day-to-day oversight of state agencies. The Commission also made a number of controversial recommendations concerning state aid to towns in the areas of education grants, teacher retirement, property tax relief, and statutory grants and regarding personnel policies and administration. The Commission also called for a return to biennial budgeting. It also recommended expansion of privatization of services, purchasing instead of constructing new buildings, and development of new attitudes concerning delivery of state services and what those services should be in every branch and at every level of state government.
Extent
20 cubic feet
Abstract
The Commission conducted a comprehensive study of state government and made cost cutting and revenue enhancement recommendations for agencies.
- Administrative agencies -- Connecticut Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Connecticut -- Politics and government -- 1951- Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Connecticut. Commission to Study the Management of State Government -- Records and correspondence Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Executive departments -- Connecticut Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Reports Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- State governments -- Connecticut Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- RG 028:009, Commission to Study the Management of State Government (Thomas Commission)
- Subtitle
- Inventory of Records
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Connecticut State Library staff.
- Date
- 2007
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Connecticut State Library Repository