Georgia among the Best Managed States in the Nation

The Pew Center on the States and Governing Magazine today (3/3/08) ranked Georgia among the best managed states in the nation in the Grading the States 2008 report. Georgia’s overall grade of B+ is the highest awarded to any state in the Southeast. Governor Sonny Perdue traveled to Washington D.C. today to speak at the luncheon where the results were announced and to share some insights into how he has transformed Georgia’s state government.

“We have made sensible, strategic reforms in Georgia to make government more efficient and more responsive to the needs of our citizens,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “As a result, Georgians are getting better value for their tax dollars and better service from their government, and we will continue to work to surpass every other state and become the best managed state in the nation.”

Only three states received a higher grade than Georgia's B+, and four other states received the same grade as Georgia. The national average among the 50 states was an overall grade of B-. Thirteen states earned grades above the national average and 19 states were below the national average.

Georgia’s overall grade was determined by averaging the state’s score in each of four categories: “Money” B+, “People” A-, “Infrastructure” B, and “Information” B+. Georgia’s previous overall grade was a B in 2005, the most recent year the study was conducted. This year’s study is the fourth in the series.

The 2008 report emphasized the value and impact of improvements made by the Governor’s Commission for a New Georgia, an initiative Governor Perdue launched shortly after being sworn-in as Governor in 2003. The commission is made up of private sector business and community leaders who offer a fresh perspective on how to make government more efficient and effective.

“In 2003, when Governor Sonny Perdue decided to set up his Commission for a New Georgia, it sounded like a recipe for one more unread manifesto doomed to gather more dust than interest. But the Governor meant business,” said the report. “He ultimately pressed into service more than 300 private-sector representatives, promising to do everything possible to implement their recommendations. And since its creation, the commission has been slowly, quietly and deliberately infiltrating Georgia state government with best practices from private industry.”

One of the reforms recommended by the Commission for a New Georgia was to improve the customer service rendered to Georgia’s citizens by state agencies. In 2006, Governor Perdue launched a first of its kind customer service improvement initiative led by the Governor’s Office of Customer Service.

“By aggressively training employees, leveraging technology and monitoring outcomes, the state has driven down wait times at call centers and has shrunk the rate at which citizens just get tired and hang up,” said the report. “And the state follows up to determine if citizens’ concerns were satisfactorily addressed.”

To read the entire report visit http://pewcenteronthestates.org/gpp.

To learn more about Governor Perdue’s Commission for a New Georgia, visit http://newgeorgia.org/.
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