Sebelius’ budget team has help from Koch Industries

Governor lauds consultant's willingness to 'question everything'

? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has tapped an economist from Koch Industries, Inc. to aid her effort to streamline Kansas government.

Wichita-based Koch has loaned Art Hall to the state to lead a review Sebelius promised voters during her election campaign, a review she said would yield hundreds of millions of dollars in savings.

Since last year’s election, Hall and about 60 others working on Sebelius’ review teams have worked to find ways to save the state money. So far, the teams have produced about $20 million in real spending cuts. Another $32 million will be raised through higher fees and collection of overdue taxes.

As the effort to streamline government proceeds, Hall said, the challenge is getting employees across state government to see themselves as part of the whole organization, not just as employees of the Department of Transportation, or Revenue, or Commerce.

For starters, he’s trying to uncover just what the state owns. “Any large organization should know exactly what it has, where it is, what it’s worth,” he said.

He faces several obstacles, including state agencies’ different inventory and computers systems.

The state has already completed a vehicle audit, and counts of computers and other equipment are planned. The counts could save the state from buying equipment for one agency that another agency already owns, but is not using.

And eventually, Hall said, the state could use the same approach to match workers with underused skills with a different department where those skills are needed.

Hall has been with Koch for six years, analyzing the effect of government policies in states and numerous countries on Koch’s far-flung operations. Before that, he spent five years with the Washington-based Tax Foundation and 18 months with the General Accounting Office, the auditing and investigative arm of Congress.

Sebelius sees Hall’s background as an advantage. Coming from outside government, she said, “allows him to question everything.”

Sebelius, a Democrat, said she is not concerned that Koch has contributed heavily to Republican candidates, including her opponent in the governor’s race last year. “He is really my person in this administration, not directed by the leadership in Koch,” she said.

Hall’s assignment is something new for the company, which has taken on small roles in other areas of the country, working with state and local governments to “foster good economic thinking,” said spokeswoman Mary Beth Jarvis.