CONTACT: Kyra Jennings or Kevin Cate, 850-413-2842
TALLAHASSEE — Florida CFO Alex Sink today announced that her Department of Financial Services has realized over $1 million in savings for Florida’s taxpayers by launching numerous paperless efforts. Overall, CFO Sink's Department has cut print volume in half since 2007. CFO Sink highlighted some of the “Going Green, Saving Green” efforts and unveiled a new legislative proposal to require electronic payments, in an attempt to cut costs and modernize government actions.
“We are always looking for more efficient and cost-effective ways to do the business of the state and by taking this modern, electronic approach we are able to save over one million dollars for the taxpayers and do our part to help the environment,” said CFO Sink. “We live in the 21st century, and by taking steps to go paperless we have modernized many of our services, making them more accessible and cutting costs.”
At her press conference, CFO Sink highlighted a few initiatives that exemplify the Department's “Going Green, Saving Green” efforts. Some examples include posting annual reports and training manuals online, communicating with agents licensed by the Department by email only, and eliminating the printing of receipts for electronic reimbursements.
CFO Sink also announced that in the next legislative session she will push for changes to allow her Department to require electronic funds transfer (EFT) payments, instead of paper warrants to and from certain companies that do business with the state. It costs the state $4.18 per payment for a paper warrant and only $0.77 to send a payment electronically.
“Given the dramatic cost difference, electronic payment requirements just make sense -- they are one more way to modernize the business of the state and save money,” CFO Sink continued. “My number one priority here in Tallahassee is to make sure taxpayer dollars are being used wisely, while improving service to the citizens of Florida.”
For the past two years, CFO Sink has been an outspoken watchdog on behalf of Florida’s taxpayers. Because of cost saving and efficiency measures encouraged by CFO Sink, the Department of Financial Services is projected to save over $5 million in 2009 alone.
Since coming into office, CFO Sink has undertaken measures such as consolidating the Department’s 11 consumer call centers into 2 call centers, renegotiating existing contracts, and cutting Department wireless costs by 37 percent.
At www.GetLeanFlorida.com, citizens can offer tips on how to cut government waste and inefficiencies. Get Lean has already received approximately 1,300 citizen suggestions since March 2009 about how state government can rein in wasteful spending and has passed these tips along to the agencies for action. For more information visit
www.MyFloridaCFO.com.
Going Green, Saving Green Efforts By Division
Division of Accounting and Auditing:
• Eliminated printing of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR): $10,000 per year
• Statewide: Discontinued printing employee reimbursement receipts: $85,000 per year
Division of Administration:
• Printer consolidation to multi-function devices that allow scanning and emailing of information and digital filing.
Division of Agent & Agency Services:• Replaced most outgoing correspondence with an e-mail notification directing licensees to their online account to view information: $350,000 per year
• Jan 2010: Will send e-mails to licensees with updates to licensing record and pending application status.
• June 2010: Will send ad-hoc e-mails directly from the licensing database for all records maintained in the system or any subset of records.
• Eliminated record storage of investigative case files: $3,100 per year
Division of Consumer Services:
• Consolidation and on-line posting of consumer brochures: $38,304 to date
Division of Funeral and Cemetery Services:
• Use of CD instead of paper copies for Board packets: $1,200 per Board meeting
Division of Information Systems:
• Statewide: Eliminated agency printing on financial data that was already available through a secure web site: 3.7 million sheets of paper and over $22,000 to date
• Print volume has been cut in half: $137,390 in Fiscal Year 08-09