In an article titled, “Kasich lays down the law,” The Columbus Dispatch covered Governor-elect Kasich’s first speech since winning Tuesday’s election. From the article:
With a budget crisis looming next year, Republican Gov.-elect John Kasich had a blunt message yesterday for lobbyists and others connected with state government: Get on his bus, or get run over.
“I just want Ohio to be great; this is our chance,” Kasich said during a luncheon at Brio Tuscan Grille at Polaris. “Please leave the cynicism and the political maneuvering at the door. Because we need you on the bus, and if you’re not on the bus, we will run over you with the bus. And I’m not kidding.”
Kasich told the lobbyists, representatives of special-interest groups and “Statehouse regulars” invited to the $28-a-person luncheon that he welcomes their input, but he defeated Gov. Ted Strickland and the Democrats in a bruising campaign and won’t accept the status quo.
“For those who are sitting in this room that think, ‘We’ve heard this before,’ I had 12 visits by a president, somewhere between
$45 (million) and $50 million (spent against him), 500 paid volunteers in here calling me every name in the book, former presidents, first ladies and God-knows-who-else, and we beat all of them,” Kasich said. “And if you think you’re going to stop us, you’re crazy. You will not stop us. We will beat you. And that’s not arrogance.”
And:
“Being in government is not just about cutting,” Kasich said. “It’s about providing a better product … We want your help in designing a better product.”
Added Taylor: “We can’t do the ‘Don’t cut me, cut somebody else’ because it doesn’t work, and it’s not going to work anymore.”
Finally:
Kasich later went to Brooklyn, a Cleveland suburb, to talk with officials at American Greetings, which reportedly is considering moving its headquarters and 2,000 employees. The company issued a statement saying it briefed Kasich on its ongoing review of its world headquarters location and that “we look forward to working with him and his administration.”
You can read the entire article here.
These are examples of a too top heavy agency government taken from the Governor’;s action site [wasteful agency spending cited by govt employees]:
(1)
“All Agencies are top heavy, with money wasted on inflated salaries at the top, as found on Ohio’s website [SEE ALERT # 609 MRDD]. Our department is “top heavy”! How many Deputy Directors, Asst. Deputy Directors etc. do we really need? In our division alone, we have a DD and 2 Asst DD’s. Then we have two “chiefs” and many, many supervisors or managers. Some have only one employee to supervise. Every job posting for the past year or so has been for a position that pays top dollar for a manager, or an administrator. We find it hard to be able to hire a clerk. I think most employees understand that the entire state of Ohio is in crisis mode, that’s what makes it so upsetting that we keep getting more and more positions filled at the higher ranking levels. ***[See ALERT # 639 ODH] For many years, the ODH Division of Quality Assurance functioned with a few members of management. Now, the “layers of management” have grown out of control. The Division Chief, (who was added during the last administration and is not even qualified for the position), has numerous assistants. The Chief of the Bureau of Long Term Care has three section chiefs. Until the last administration, the Bureau Chief was able to operate without assistants. Two of these section chiefs supervise only two employees and one of them supervises only one employee. There are five district offices, all with a district office supervisor. Again, for many years, the district office supervisor was able to manage an office by themselves. Now each district office supervisor has anywhere from 2-4 assistants. This leaves a ratio of 1:3 supervisory staff to non-supervisory staff. In the Bureau of Regulatory Compliance, there is a Bureau Chief, an office supervisor, an assistant office supervisor, and only four employees. These numbers could quite easily be reduced to what they were until the last administration. The offices functioned quite well without all of the layers of management. These unnecessary layers of middle management can be found throughout the department and certainly need a thorough screening to determine their need. This is a MAJOR unnecessary expense. See ALERT # 1639].”
(2)
“The Department of Taxation is too top-heavy with administrative/supervisory personnel, most of whom do not meet the minimum requirements for the position [eg administrators/supervisors who either do not meet the qualifications for the job or have no one to supervise, such as Taxation DTE executive administrator Shelley Wilson who does not have the minimum two administrators under her, which administrators would themselves not have the minimum personnel under them to justify their positions]. Examples can also be found in the case of Charles Ortlieb, a non-attorney who was listed as the administrator of Tax Appeals legal section of the Chief Counsel division [does not/did not administer anyone, but was (perhaps) promoted to said position in order to justify a pay increase for doing the same job as before]; Mark Walker and his administrators appear top-heavy with insufficient staff to justify their administrative positions; Chris Ross has/had only one administrator instead of the required two; Vaughn Lombardo has/had no administrators. As well many supervisors are listed as such in name only, with no staff under them. This appears to be quite a waste of money, perhaps in the $millions of dollars. These are just observations; you may act on them if you like.
@gh – To what “ALERTS” are you referring? Would like to read references. Thanks.
I loved this article in the Columbus Dispatch and what you have to say. I hope you can accomplish getting governement to a reasonble size and the your many other ideas.
Tomorrow’s liberal media headline:
Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich threatens to run people over with a bus and “beat them”
The state income tax is to what Heroin is to a Junkie. Once Ohio’s budget crunch is dealt with, get rid of the state income tax. That will attract more businesses and people to this state. Look, you have payroll taxes and many other types of taxes on us all ready. Government has become too dependent on taxes and needs a 12 step program to overcome its addiction.
Congratulations Governor Elect!
Our state and our country face many hard choices as we seek to return to our founding principles. May God grace you and your staff with the Fortitude and Perseverance that will be required to stay focused on the daunting tasks ahead. To quote the “Good Book”, “Now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Please let us know how we can support you and your team every day, to affect the fundamental changes needed to set us back on the path to freedom & opportunity for all!
God Bless!
Dean
it is great that he is saying all of this but what are his plans.Plus honestly there si no way you can elimante the income tax with out something to replace it like a sales tax,and the fact that he refuses to answer this question tells me that he wont get rid of the income tax.
Had a talk with a teacher today that was concerned with your going to run schools like a business. When I told her about you going to put the power back in the classrooms, she softened a bit. Was amazing to see. I’m excited to see the changes. I know they won’t be easy but in the end it will be worth it for us all. Again congratulations!
Efficiency Review
http://efficiency.ohio.gov/
this is where everything was submitted, and could be viewed.
Food Stamp Fraud: Newspapers are replete with stories of the difficulties encountered by government officials attempting to monitor food stamp fraud. The following general suggestion is a needed step toward solving the problem of monitoring food stamp abuse:
Welfare agencies can issue monthly food debit cards to each food stamp recipient. The cards are inexpensive to manufacture and distribute, and they can be embedded with a magnetic strip containing the name, social security or account number of the recipient, and credited with that month’s food purchase entitlement. When the recipient purchases food from a participating merchant, the card is run through a debit machine [purchased by participating merchants as a cost of doing business] that deducts the amount of purchase from the card’s credited amount. In this way there is a record of who is spending what, where it is spent, and the debit corresponds to a merchant’s sales record for cross check purposes.
I believe that this system, similar to “debit” cards used elsewhere, can aid in preventing the theft and black market sale of food stamps. If a card is stolen and reported, the stolen card’s tag number can be deleted from the system, rendering it unusable. The card could limit foods purchased to staples, and reject candy and soda or other junk foods with little or no nutritional value. Some people buy junk food items and sell them through or to small businesses that resell the items to the public, creating a profit of tax dollars to the card user instead of providing nutrition. That should be stopped. Use the privilege responsibly or lose it.
EXACTLY why I voted for you. You’re a businessman. We need a better product to sell to other businesses. We’re already at a disadvantage with the climate in Ohio. But, if we can become a place that businesses want to come, continue to grow our efforts for higher education, this state will be unstoppable.
Take over, make the tough decisions, make our state great.
Referring to the article…this is the John Kasich I voted for for Governor! Go John!
John – Congrats!!!!!
Please stay true to your campaign promises. We must turn Ohio around.
As a Cuyahoga County resident, it was very upsetting to learn that we are going to be governed by democrat. Unbelievable!
It is my hope that in spite of the Cuyahoga County vote, you can work with them to help Ohio and our county.
I have a major complaint about you already before you your job starts in January. I want to know specifically WHY you will not have a light rail go through, but yet you will take the money. ARE YOU NUTS. I was very upset when Amtrak got rid of the station in Columbus. with Strickland, there was a chance of getting it back. You do not want it. This is a purfect opportunity for people to travel around Ohio, especially through the three “C” cities of Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. That is the problem with you Republicans, you take way things that are needed for those who are less wealthy. You all are rich. Airline prices are getting higher and higher. at present, if I want to ride an Amtrak train to say Orlando, Florida, I have to take it from Cincinnati, which is fine. Getting to the train is another matter. I do not know if any airport shuttles will take a family of 9 to the Train station. We could drive, BUT we do not have any cars that hold 9 people, 3 of them require child safety seats. The Light rail would have been a GREAT HELP. People can also work from one city and still live in their present city. there are all kinds of benefits to this light rail system, but YOU think it is a waste. THINK about other people for once.
I hope you really care about the state and making us great again. Don’t just do some big things to look good for a presidential run in two years. If Republicans don’t do well these next two years then we won’t defeat president Obama in 2012. The pressure is on for you and the GOP to make good on your promises.
Johnny, can I call you Johnny? Well I will anyway. Where’s the respect you may ask? Sorry I don’t have any for you and you deserve none. So, you talk about cutting jobs in the government, but for every job you cut, you need to create a job somewhere else just to maintain the current job count in Ohio. How exactly do you plan on creating jobs? I agree that the Government is too big, but these are people and they have families and responsibilities. Where are you going to put them when you cut their job? Or are you just going to feed them to the wolves?
Congratulations on your victory. We need the jobs big time. Other states and cities seem to have a “stable” job market and the last thing I want to do is not move out of state again to find a good-paying job. Let’s get businesses to locate in Ohio; if other states and cities are able to attract the likes of IBM (a technical center in Iowa, for example), we can do the same with companies large and small. Good luck and God speed.
Just listened to the Triv Show and I agree. We have to keep our Ohio jobs and stop having companies recycle these jobs to other states and calling them new jobs. It is not good for Ohio or the USA.
For instance, there is a small factory in …Hicksville, Ohio called Apex Tool Group, “Dotco,”they have been in business since 1952. They have been and still are a very profitable factory.The company’s plan is to close this factory and relocate it to a southern state. This is a very modern and well kept factory with an outstanding workforce. You should visit to see for yourself.
This would be a good way to show the people of Ohio that you care as much about the small towns as you do about the large cities.
My question is, governor how can you do what you promise to do?
If you get rid of the income tax, what do you replace it with?
Tax cuts do not create jobs. if you do not invest in our Infrastructure how can we compete, other states that do.
Hi Governor Kasich:
So delighted for you. Stayed up late to see
the results. You were always my favorite when
standing in for Bill Oreilly.
You are the man for the job.
Best Wishes
deanna Lesser
Governor,
My biggest fear right now is that the bus you are driving will be running over me and many of my friends living and working hard in Ohio. Ina world where bullying is in the national spotlight of late your words are not the east bit comforting coming from our newly elected state leader.
My simple advice would be to change your tune to more of one of inclusion and teamwork or you may find yourself governing alot fewer citizens than when you took office.
Thank you and best of luck
Well said Karen! I already have a plan in place to transfer Union Locals to West Virginia Local 132 as soon as Governor elect Kasich throws the Prevailing Wage into the trash can or succeeds in passing the Right-To-Work Law. He doesn’t have to say it, but with a man of his stature, these are two issues at the top of his list. I will have no future in Ohio along with the other 15,000+ members of my Union if he does either or both of the things I mentioned. I worry about my mother, and my sister-in-law because they are both union teachers. Gov. elect Kasich blames education problems on the teachers. He should sit in my mom’s classroom for a day. He would quickly realize that the issues lie in the home life of the child. Lots of the parents are drug addicts, alcoholics, etc. and do not give 10 cents about their kids. Of course, John Kasich won’t even read this, nonetheless come to terms with it because he’s so one-track and closed minded. Governor elect Kasich, I guarantee my mother would be ecstatic to have you sit in her classroom for a day so you can see really what the issues with education are. Quite honestly, this would be a stand-up thing of you to do and I would respect that. Southern Ohio has a drug problem that is killing these kids’ childhoods. It’s sad. You really should check it out if you care.
John, I just listened to you talking on TV.
I appreciate the fact that you are not afraid of saying you are praying and this means you respect and have faith in God.
My suggestions are that you remain Honest. That you continue to seek the Wisdom of God in all your decisions. That you do not cave into Greed and Power as your first objectives. Use your leadership for the best needs of people. Make your best attempt to get rid of all Unions in USA. Manufacturers will only return to USA with their factories if the unions are gone so they can be competitive around the world.
We can not fault business for going overseas when Unions and Taxes are against them staying here in USA.
Demand lower spending in all areas of government for Ohio and USA government. Drop property taxes now.
Stop all the lobbyists in Washington who continue to seek money that we do not have. Put them out of work, let them go get a real job. Stop unemployment checks for those who are professional nonworkers, those who do not want to work. Repeal Obama care quickly. Put lawyers in prison who continue to sue Doctors over frivolous lawsuits. They must stop. This is only a small amount of the issues before us but a start. Seek God in All Things.
Bill, Greed and Power is John Kasich! Whenever you go to Wal-Mart, which I’m sure you are a faithful shopper there, every time you pick up an item you are looking to purchase, do you look on the back of it to see where it’s made? I look at everything, and I mean EVERYTHING to see where it’s made. Most of the time you will see a Chinese version and an American made version side by side. The American version usually cost about 10% more than the foreign made. Yet it the cost of making it in China is about 40-50% less than in the USA. That said, American companies ship jobs overseas NOT because it’s too expensive to make over here! But because it is far more profitable to make it over there. John Kasich knows this, and that’s why he supports free trade. Open your eyes, THAT IS PURE GREED! America with or without Unions cannot make goods as cheap as the Chinese. Unless you see it fair to pay Americans about $0.50 and hour to work in a factory. Which it sounds like you support! Problem is you, and so many other Americans who don’t pick up and item and see where it’s made and choose the one that says MADE IN THE U.S.A even if you have to pay a couple more dollars for it! But you will get a far better quality and longer lasting product for that extra money. The problem is that you all are addicted to cheap made chinese goods. Maybe you can pray to God that he can help you understand this?!
John,
Run over those 15,000 union members who pillage Ohio with prevailing wage demands. Let them move to West Va – that’s a hotbed of economic opportunity. Run over the over-entitled state government workers. Private ownerhip accomplishes more with less – productivity equals prosperity. A net migration of these types can only improve Ohio’s future and bring in employers and employees who share the vision of driving the economic engine together rather than take all you can get away with, plundering the future of Ohio and of America.
John, if you are unwilling to drive the bus over these obstacles, we will get someone else who will – or we will leave the dispicable hell hole that Ohio is becoming.
Paul, what is your occupation so that I can tell you why you are overpaid and why you only deserve $8.00 or less and why you don’t deserve a pension and good health care benefits?
Best of luck removing top heavy departments and saving me tax dollars.
read your posts and I have had 2 experiences with unemployment. In 2009 the reason for my separation was changed, documentation that I submitted for UCRC appeal was never included in Director’s file (I have date stamped copies from processing center that they were received). I quit my job with county commissioners because I was contacted by Federal & State investigators about a investigation for fraud and I was being harrassed by my employer. When I contacted ODJFS to find out why my reason for separation was changed from Quit for ethical objections to Quit for personal reasons, I was told that I would have to file an appeal to UCRC. It took 5 months before UCRC hearing.
After 2 months of not being notified when hearing would be scheduled, I called UCRC-Richard Skovran-and was told that UCRC does over 800 hearings a week and he could not say when I could expect notification. I was notified 2 weeks before hearing. I could not afford an attorney and could not get help thru legal aid.
The hearing was a joke. The hearing officer let the employer’s attorney waste time addressing issues that did not pertain. I was not given a chance to state my case. My witness were not contacted by UCRC to be part of the hearing. After 45 minutes I was told that hearing would have to be rescheduled. When I asked the hearing officer when it would be rescheduled, she she hung up on me. After a couple minutes she called back with the employer’s attorney on the line. She said that she could not tell me
when it would be rescheduled. I asked if I would be able to present my case and submit information about FBI & State BWC probe, I was told I could only state facts for the reason for separation-
which ODJFS listed as personal reasons. I put the call on speakerphone and recorded it. After the Hearing I found out that the Director of UCRC, Sylvester Patton, had personal and political ties to my former employer-the county commissioners, HR Director and the attorney representing the county.
A corrected determination issued on 8/30 for the qualifying weeks, it went on to state that my claim was disallowed for unexcused absence and disregard to the employer’s interest. It listed 6/18 as my date of discharge. I contacted Tonya Reese at the Redetermination Unit on 8/31 and told her that I worked on 6/18 and had a paystub to verify. My termination date was 6/25. She said that ODJFS uses the lkast day worked as the date of discharge. I told her that I could not supply a doctor’s excuse because I was discharged on 6/25 and my appointment was for 6/29. She stated that she spoke to Rudy Herter at West on 8/25 and he stated that I never called off. West listed the reason for my termination as job abandonment. I then stated that I had phone records and fax confirmation to prove that I did contact West on 6/23 and screen shots of the online employee records to show that I posted my time off hours
for other employees to pick up as required.
I asked why the employer did not have to submit an Eligibility Statement in writing within 45 days of my application as required by ORC 4141.28(F), she said that ODJFS is not required to contact the employer until after qualifying weeks have been established. Again, my claim was transfered to UCRC without my authorization. I requested a copy of my file. When I received the Fact Finding Statement, all of the employer questions were blank. Under the additional Employer Information it states that I did call off on 6/23, but failed to call off for 6/25. The date & time entered under the additional information is for 8/31 at 8:51am-the day after my determination was issued and after I told Ms. Reese that I had
documentation to validate that West had been notified.
I contacted ODJFS and the UCRC that I did not file an appeal for a UCRC hearing. I wanted time to have an attorney review my documentation. I wanted to know why ORC 4141.28(F) did not apply to my claim, if a corrected Director’s Redetermination could be made without filing an appeal, and if I had a valid claim for appeal. I received a call from Richard Skovran at UCRC. He stated that an appeal would be in my best interest and if my claim was remanded back to ODJFS they could choose to ignore it. I asked him to have it sent back to ODJFS until I decided that it was benefical for me to file an appeal.
I filed an appeal to UCRC within the time frame by fax and mail on 9/22. I received a call from Deborah Gould/Redetermination Unit on 9/27. I told her that I had not authorized the previous 2 appeals before I filed on 9/22. I hoped a hearing could be avoided if Director Lumpkin’s office reviewed my claim. Since the Director’s office did not respond to why ORC 4141.28(F) was not followed, I chose to appeal. I requested a copy of the Director’s file from UCRC and received an email stating that the UCRC closed my file and sent it back to ODJFS. I called UCRC on 11/8 and was put thru to the assistant director’s office (Richard Skovran). I left a voicemail with my information
and I have not received a call back.
In July I contacted the Inspector General’s office, but was told that they only meet every 2 weeks
and then choose what complaints they follow up on. I was told that they rairly investigate unemployment complaints. I continued to fax information to them to document my complaints with
ODJFS. I received a letter from their office in September stating they could understand my frustration
with ODJFS, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it. The Inspector General, Thomas Charles is from Trumbull County. I contacted Senator Voinovich’s office in September, but have not received a response.
I recorded all conversations with ODJFS and UCRC since the beginning of July. I was ecstatic when Kasich was elected and I am looking forward to contacting him with my experiences with ODJFS and the UCRC. Lumpkin & Patton were both appointed by Strickland. From the complaints I have read online, Governor Elect Kasich needs to do a major overhaul of both agencies.
I was recently diagnosed with breast disease for the second time and will be having surgery. It was before my first bout that I had shingles for the first time. Needless to say, the stress caused by ODJFS, UCRC and financial hardship has not made this situation very easy for me. If anyone has any recourse for legal help, please contact me at EndOhioCorruption@hotmail.com.
read your posts and I have had 2 experiences with unemployment. In 2009 the reason for my separation was changed, documentation that I submitted for UCRC appeal was never included in Director’s file (I have date stamped copies from processing center that they were received). I quit my job with county commissioners because I was contacted by Federal & State investigators about a investigation for fraud and I was being harrassed by my employer. When I contacted ODJFS to find out why my reason for separation was changed from Quit for ethical objections to Quit for personal reasons, I was told that I would have to file an appeal to UCRC. It took 5 months before UCRC hearing.
After 2 months of not being notified when hearing would be scheduled, I called UCRC-Richard Skovran-and was told that UCRC does over 800 hearings a week and he could not say when I could expect notification. I was notified 2 weeks before hearing. I could not afford an attorney and could not get help thru legal aid.
The hearing was a joke. The hearing officer let the employer’s attorney waste time addressing issues that did not pertain. I was not given a chance to state my case. My witness were not contacted by UCRC to be part of the hearing. After 45 minutes I was told that hearing would have to be rescheduled. When I asked the hearing officer when it would be rescheduled, she she hung up on me. After a couple minutes she called back with the employer’s attorney on the line. She said that she could not tell me
when it would be rescheduled. I asked if I would be able to present my case and submit information about FBI & State BWC probe, I was told I could only state facts for the reason for separation-
which ODJFS listed as personal reasons. I put the call on speakerphone and recorded it. After the Hearing I found out that the Director of UCRC, Sylvester Patton, had personal and political ties to my former employer-the county commissioners, HR Director and the attorney representing the county.
A corrected determination issued on 8/30 for the qualifying weeks, it went on to state that my claim was disallowed for unexcused absence and disregard to the employer’s interest. It listed 6/18 as my date of discharge. I contacted Tonya Reese at the Redetermination Unit on 8/31 and told her that I worked on 6/18 and had a paystub to verify. My termination date was 6/25. She said that ODJFS uses the lkast day worked as the date of discharge. I told her that I could not supply a doctor’s excuse because I was discharged on 6/25 and my appointment was for 6/29. She stated that she spoke to Rudy Herter at West on 8/25 and he stated that I never called off. West listed the reason for my termination as job abandonment. I then stated that I had phone records and fax confirmation to prove that I did contact West on 6/23 and screen shots of the online employee records to show that I posted my time off hours
for other employees to pick up as required.
I asked why the employer did not have to submit an Eligibility Statement in writing within 45 days of my application as required by ORC 4141.28(F), she said that ODJFS is not required to contact the employer until after qualifying weeks have been established. Again, my claim was transfered to UCRC without my authorization. I requested a copy of my file. When I received the Fact Finding Statement, all of the employer questions were blank. Under the additional Employer Information it states that I did call off on 6/23, but failed to call off for 6/25. The date & time entered under the additional information is for 8/31 at 8:51am-the day after my determination was issued and after I told Ms. Reese that I had
documentation to validate that West had been notified.
I contacted ODJFS and the UCRC that I did not file an appeal for a UCRC hearing. I wanted time to have an attorney review my documentation. I wanted to know why ORC 4141.28(F) did not apply to my claim, if a corrected Director’s Redetermination could be made without filing an appeal, and if I had a valid claim for appeal. I received a call from Richard Skovran at UCRC. He stated that an appeal would be in my best interest and if my claim was remanded back to ODJFS they could choose to ignore it. I asked him to have it sent back to ODJFS until I decided that it was benefical for me to file an appeal.
I filed an appeal to UCRC within the time frame by fax and mail on 9/22. I received a call from Deborah Gould/Redetermination Unit on 9/27. I told her that I had not authorized the previous 2 appeals before I filed on 9/22. I hoped a hearing could be avoided if Director Lumpkin’s office reviewed my claim. Since the Director’s office did not respond to why ORC 4141.28(F) was not followed, I chose to appeal. I requested a copy of the Director’s file from UCRC and received an email stating that the UCRC closed my file and sent it back to ODJFS. I called UCRC on 11/8 and was put thru to the assistant director’s office (Richard Skovran). I left a voicemail with my information
and I have not received a call back.
In July I contacted the Inspector General’s office, but was told that they only meet every 2 weeks
and then choose what complaints they follow up on. I was told that they rairly investigate unemployment complaints. I continued to fax information to them to document my complaints with
ODJFS. I received a letter from their office in September stating they could understand my frustration
with ODJFS, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it. The Inspector General, Thomas Charles is from Trumbull County. I contacted Senator Voinovich’s office in September, but have not received a response.
I recorded all conversations with ODJFS and UCRC since the beginning of July. I was ecstatic when Kasich was elected and I am looking forward to contacting him with my experiences with ODJFS and the UCRC. Lumpkin & Patton were both appointed by Strickland. From the complaints I have read online, Governor Elect Kasich needs to do a major overhaul of both agencies.
I was recently diagnosed with breast disease for the second time and will be having surgery. It was before my first bout that I had shingles for the first time. Needless to say, the stress caused by ODJFS, UCRC and financial hardship has not made this situation very easy for me. If anyone has any recourse for legal help, please contact me at EndOhioCorruption@hotmail.com.
Stop all double dipping by State employees and that wil open a lot of jobs in Ohio. If a State employees retires, they should be retired from the State and not allowed back to double dip. This should apply to Federal, County, City and all government workers, how many jobs are being takne by people receiving large government pensions and these people are back to work for the same agencies or similiar agencies they retired from due to the old boy network.
“…he defeated Gov. Ted Strickland and the Democrats in a bruising campaign…”
Really John Kasich? Bruising??? Your 49% to his 47% is hardly bruising.
Based on your comments since your victory, I trust you even less.
From Governor’s website
http://efficiency.ohio.gov/efficiencyanonymous.aspx
It appears that suggestions [ALERT] 639, 609 , 1609 and 311 were posted earlier [November 5, 2010], but may have been removed from the site by the agency offices.
This is suggestion 312
Top level management rarely if ever consults or utilizes the input of those front-line staff who are required to attempt to implement the management decisions. Need policy reformation and implementation; recognition of employee merit instead of simony.
One major reason employees leave government work is that there is little incentive for or recognition of innovation or improvement and they are not empowered to do their job as well as they would like. The main problem with many government agencies is that they are run as management heavy bureaucracies instead of as meritocracies that reward individual input and innovation. Improving the quality of services delivered by an agency can be accomplished by developing and implementing innovative, effective practices outside a department’s traditional process, and by recognizing the effort and ideas of front-line employees. In other words, the department or agency could, and should, make the work environment such that all have a stake and say in providing excellent service.
The current departmental structure of meetings, teams and committees is too cumbersome to handle the day-to-day problems that occur at the front-line level. Problems occur daily that current policies and procedures are too slow or narrow to handle. Solutions to these problems are often conceived and applied through a hands-on approach to problem solving inherent in all workplaces. These solutions to everyday problems can range from changing the position of the xerographic-copier in order to effectuate an ergonomically correct and time efficient work area, to implementing an on-line data transfer system that reduces paperwork and backlog and increases data input and output. The front-line worker is most often confronted with the front-line problems and oftentimes has a solution in mind, but cannot get it up the chain of command to implement.
In the book Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service (AMACOM Publishing, 1992), authors Chip Bell and Ron Zemke state:
Your people can only be as good as your system allows them to be. So ask yourself how much of the complexity you can take out of the system. The simpler, faster, easier, and user-friendly you can make it for your customers and employees, the more willing and skilled they’ll become at making use of it.
Put another way, “[y]ou can take great people, highly trained and motivated, and put them in a lousy system and the system will win every time”. Geary Rummler, President, The Rummler-Bache Group. Id. Bell and Zemke conclude that “rules, policies and procedures should be servants, not masters”, and declare that a sound system of service is one that empowers the front-line staff to reconfigure or modify current procedure or policy in order to meet the unique needs of the workplace. Decisions “must be made at the lowest possible level for management at the top to retain its effectiveness”. Saxon Tate, Director, Dominion Sugar. Id.
This policy of empowerment is exemplified by the actions of a newly hired warehouse manager for a company that produced high pressure hoses for industry. When he arrived he found completed orders stacked in the warehouse under a two-year delivery backlog. The backlog was due to the inability of the business system to generate shipping labels on time. The labels could only be generated after the bills were processed, and the billing system was too slow to handle the influx of orders. While new system was in the works and a committee formed to look into the matter, results were not expected for another two years.
The new manager got into his car, drove to the nearest office supply store, and bought some boxes of felt markers and a stack of mailing labels. He handed out the markers and a mailing list to each employee, telling them to stop packing and start marking the addresses onto the stacked boxes awaiting delivery. A delivery truck arrived and the hand-addressed back-orders were loaded and shipped. By the end of the week two years’ of backlogged orders had been shipped. The warehouse manager was aware of the golden rule of service, if you promise you deliver from A to B, you better deliver on your claim.
The same is true for providing effective and efficient government services to taxpayers, who are the governmental agency’s customers. Programs must be tuned to meet the unique needs of the different divisions in which they are utilized. If a front-line employee is not empowered to make needed changes or decisions at that level, the customer will see not a policy, well conceived or not, but only that the department cannot deliver. A department must empower its staff to provide customer service by permitting a good system to operate. “Eighty percent of customers’ problems are caused by bad systems, not bad people.” John Goodman, President, TARP, Inc. Employees empowered with the ability to handle situations dictated by the needs of the workplace can provide a service to the public that is remembered as great service. Or, as stated by Elbert Hubbard, 19th century American writer, “[h]e who gives great service gets great returns”. Id. The front-line employee is a resource of work related information and an asset that should be utilized. Or, to paraphrase Alfred Doolittle in Pygmalion, front-line employees are “willing to help you; they’re wanting to help you; they’re waiting to help you”.
Good luck in your endeavors, Mr. Kasich. Hopefully people will continue to be very concerned about the present neo-democrat-socialist administration. These people desperately need real transparency; – even though the left will at times misrepresent what you say, please be honest with your constituents.
Thank You
Mr. John Kaisch,
Congratulations on your victory! I hope one of your top issues is to clean up state government; there are too many managers with one, two, and three employee’s reporting to them. Unclassified Managers with rights to bump back into their classified positions. Tons of managers in state government with only a High School diploma, and we ask ourselves why state government is so inefficient, well because you have incompetent folks in management positions.
How about taking a look at the huge administrations in each county, in each city, and in each township. There are overlaps of duties all over the place. I live and pay taxes to a township that does not even service my roads. They leave that to the county. The county does not get the tax money, but instead has to clear the township’s roads (and pave them too). How about we eliminate all townships, and move the power to the counties. In some cases I think we should even eliminate some of the 88 counties. Counties were originally designed for residents to be able to get the county seat to do business and get back home in 1 day (in the horse and buggy days, folks). Do we seriously need 88 county governments inside Ohio? God only knows how many more township governments we have, never mind the city and village counsels with more elected “officials”. Let’s retool these people and put them to work manufacturing goods to bring more businesses back to Ohio. Payroll taxes would climb, and our government would have the necessary funds to take care of our great state’s roads and other infrastructure which will further entice more businesses. Kill townships. Kill counties. Smaller government; more industry. Go get ‘em John!
Congratulations, Governor-Elect Kasich, may the Lord Jesus Christ watch over you and guide you in the next four years. The Lord will provide for all of us as we journey to bringing sensibility back to Ohio.
Thanks for helping save American Greetings jobs in Brooklyn, Ohio. I am an elected official here and we need to keep American Greetings here as a good corporate neighbor. Finding solutions instead of laying blame has to be first priority. Too many grenades being lobbied back and forth..Glad you told them we are back to helping businesses grow and prosper in Ohio.
I’ve just spent some of my evening reading all of the comments above. There seems to be a mixture of angst and hooray! However, aside from the comments regarding specifics on top-heavy state government I don’t see much in the way of helpful feedback or solutions. Before I shoot from the hip here, I plan to take some time to really think about at least one problem and try to come up with a helpful suggestion. I’ll get back to you soon!
Eliminate duplication of tasks by various offices within a single division. Most offices do not know how they do business. If it takes flow-charting to re-establish a lean, mean, office – so be it. The old adage “we have always done it that way” is no longer viable. We need to use the resources that we have wisely and stay within the budget that is given.
We need to work around the Ohio budget deficit by working smart, sharing information and ideas. The word is COLLABORATION. Be transparent, walk the straight and narrow. No double talk, just say it plain, don’t embellish, and above all just be yourself. This will be a test for all Ohioans. We are all going to have to bite the bullet, in order for Ohio’s economy to turn around.
Congrats Governor! I’m really excited about the direction this state has chosen. Keep working on scrapping the light rail project. Garbage project that will just costs us money for years to come. Amtrak never would’ve never got rid of the routes if they were profitable, and that was when Ohio was doing better. Buy a moped if you want to travel 35mph. They’re great on gas mileage and won’t raise taxes.
John, the current organizational structure of ODJFS is a textbook example of empire-building that adversely impacts the many citizens of Ohio who increasingly need job assistance and unemployment services. Many supervisory and management positions are set up to parallel like-named positions, while separating minor duties to increase the number of positions. Operational positions duplicate identical programmatic positions, where days are filled with endless meetings, set up by legions of administrative assistants (who are classified as supervisors), which produce no results.
When less-senior positions in the field went unfilled and services to Ohio’s citizens unaccomplished, the senior management trough remain filled to overflow with political appointees, bureaucrats, and friends of the Strickland administration. Federal grant money for programs to cut Ohio’s unemployment rate was unspent and the public un-served.
The ODJFS structure calls for a sharp cutting of senior and mid-level management staff, consolidation of positions within a streamlined organizational structure and a solid review for areas of possible privatization to save funds.
John, I worked for ODJFS for many years and saw the waste and the irresponsible disregard for the proper utilization of public monies and a betrayal of the public trust. Most public employees are hard-working citizens who try their best to serve the public, but are impeded by poor or non-existent management. I plan to give you additional thoughts learned from inside this dysfunctional organization.
I recently left ODJFS out of frustration, but your solid leadership approach gives me the hope and encouragement to climb back on-board to help make the difference that Ohio needs.
.
Congratulations Governor Elect:
The opportunities to improve the business environment are huge. The expectations from many of small business owners are for Real and Recongizable Positive Results.
To me, improvement boils down to taking a common sense and fair approach to any issue.
Although there are many apparent improvements and changes that need attention i will mention one that should be on that agenda. Tort Reform! The government and courts have allowed legalized extoration to become the norm.
It is a sinful wast of time and money to defend frivolous lawsuits that many businesses face. Everything form Workman’s Comp, discrimination etc. The cost of frivolous hurts everyone in the company – All coworkers! Busnesses would much prefer to increase wages, improve benefits and invest to grow the business instead of paying huge dollars to attornery and insurance companies.
Best wishes for a great period of succesful change.
John; What is the chance of getting the Department of EDUCATION Defunded ?
In the 1970’s our school students was ranked near the top of all nations . Today we are near the bottom. I remember hearing it talked in the news that there was a move to dumb-down our education system. Well they have ; and hidden our Constitution as same time.
It is time to give Education back to the States !
Martin Gough / Thornville ,Ohio
This is exactly what the American people have wanted to see and hear their politicians stand for and abviously voted in a ticket of moral and honest people for this great State of Ohio. Bring it on!
Congratulations, Mr. John Kasich. I’m so excited about the direction you are taking to turn Ohio around to become a great state again.
Please scrap that rail project. It is not beneficial for Ohio. We need jobs. Without jobs we can not expect the economy to turn around. Putting people back to work builds the tax base.
Cut the spending.
May the Lord Jesus Christ guide you in the next four years to build prosperity for Ohio.
The CLOWARD & PIVEN concept is embedded within ALL branches of the government; therefore, abuse of tax dollars is within every Gov’t dep’t., including schools. Salaries, cost-of-living, Travel expenses, along with all the corruption & abuse of tax dollars within Gov’t offices have gone off the charts.
@Martin Gough – You really need to start at the kids’ home lives. Tell their parents to get off the drugs before, during and after pregnancy, teach their own kids responsibility, importance of education, and to get the hell off of the video games and focus on school so when they go to school the teachers can teach and not babysit. And ENFORCE those values. Uh-oh, did I say that? Did I just blame the people and not the government? The truth hurts, doesn’t it? John Kasichs education plans will hide hopeless kids while blaming and firing good teachers because they can’t seem to teach a mentally disabled kid how to read fluently with his/her peers. America’s and Ohio’s problems are a society problem, not a government problem. Most John Kasich supporters are blind to this. Blame somebody else until there’s nobody else to blame, then blame it on something instead of someone…….whatever you do, don’t blame yourself!
Governor-Elect Kasich: As one of your state employees I am anxious to see how you plan to deal with the glut of management the state agencies have. We all get that when there is an election and subsequent transition, the people put in the places of power hire their friends, family, friends kids, old babysitters, someone they think they knew, etc….and they have no knowledge of the job that their employees do. This is one of the biggest disgraces in the employee ranks of state government.
I would also ask you to get an accounting of all the ‘special projects’ that are going on in the agencies-specifically in Taxation. Have your staff acquaint themselves witht he STARS project and they will soon be reporting to you that it is a project that has spent over $50 million and there is no product and no anticipated date for a product. Do not blame the current administration for this debacle, it began in the Taft administration. I don’t doubt that this is a sore subject that you will hear more about after your inauguration.
“Cuts” is not the operative word at all. EFFICIENCY is what needs to occur in the State Government. Cost savings will happen with Efficiency, and smart leadership.
Need to hire qualified managers, most are as jgrenfall said, friends, babysitter, drinking buddy etc… I say make all managers making more than 70k unclassified and then make them reply for their jobs.
Well, it`s official. Governor elect Kasich is a job killer for Ohio. He should have known the rail system funds for Ohio could not be used for any other project than the rail system. Now other states will be using the 400 million dollars for their states! And he campaigned on this promise. Shame on our new governor for his backward thinking for Ohio.
I am soo pleased that there is a new breed of politicians that are true to their campaign promises. Enough of all our money being spend in those grandiloquent projects. If those projects where really worthy, and fiscally sound, private capital would have taken care of it. WE NEED PLEOPLE LIKE JOHN WHO WILL FIGHT THE DEFICIT SERIOUSLY. Let’s cut all those entitlements, and get the spending, the deficit, the taxes down.