Quote:
Originally Posted by Hand
This is a novel (to me) idea. If you don't mind indulging me, would you mind unwrapping this one a little? - Where to get/how to fund existing or new buildings
- How to fund moving personnel/ acquiring new local personnel.
- Projected increased or decreased utility/effectiveness of the dept in their new location
I think it's a great idea, I would like to delve a bit and see your thought process. |
This is a high level overview and not a comprehensive plan. There are informational holes and certain points of data that I am lacking
Moving Federal Agencies out of the DC Metro.
The challenge here is to do this in as much of a budget neutral manner as possible. It also only make sense to move those entities that have an operational role. The bureaucratic paper pushers don’t apply and ideally you would want to do away those agencies that are not providing a public service or meeting a constitutional requirement of the federal government. An essential part of downsizing the government is to make it more like the military in the sense that it is about service and not about a stepping stone to a lucrative career in the private sector or huge dollars from consulting or speaking engagements.
Political appointees would have to think long and hard about accepting an appointment (one of 4,000 political appointees in federal service) if that means they are going to have to leave their McMansion in Loudon county or Old Town Alexandria.
Such a move also presents an opportunity to conduct an organizational restructuring and workforce analysis. Cutting the redundant and useless programs (and associated staffs). D.C. has also created a muffin-top organizational structure where there are excessive levels of seniority for menial jobs.
Also, technology now provides a level of connectivity today that did not exist when these agencies were established so the necessity of being in walking distance of the Hill or the WH is gone. Only thing needed in DC is Department of Treasury and the War Department
At the end of the day, a farmer should be able to go from his pasture to the agriculture building without getting off of his tractor. Appointees and employees should SEE their constituents and those they serve EVERY DAY on their way to work, at the PTA meeting and on the softball field.
Target Agencies
Agriculture
Interior
Homeland Security
Labor
EPA
Selection of locations can be achieved through a bidding process following an analysis of the missions and what geographical location most closely aligns.
The examples I provide are unscientifically derived, but it would look something like:
Agriculture – Iowa
Interior – Washington (Eastern)/Montana/Wyoming
Homeland Security – Arizona
Labor – Ohio
EPA – West Virginia/Arkansas
A factor for consideration would be local unemployment statistics(Bureau of labor statistics) and infrastructure opportunity projects (where local towns can benefit from infrastructure construction or upgrades)
Yuma AZ – 15%
Steubenville, OH – 9.2%
Richland, WA – 8.4%
Davenport, IA – 7.1%
Timeline for relocation would require a multi-year approach to align budgeting processes and authorizations as well as providing for proper notification to affected agencies and employees to consider options and make a decision.
Personnel:
Cost savings can be achieved through the relocation in a number of ways and can generally be accomplished within the current guidelines from the OPM.
97% of the federal workforce is located CONUS
15% of the federal workforce is located in the Washington DC Metro area.
Average paygrade of federal employees GS-10 (Base Salary $47,000)
Average paygrade of federal employees in D.C. GS-12 (Base Salary $62,000)
Savings $15,000 annually in base salary
Knowing that initially certain employees will simply relocate, the locality pay creates an initial savings in a status quo environment. i.e. GS-10 Step 5 employee: DC Locality $66,690 Moline Iowa Locality $61,158 Savings= $5,500 annually
OPM regulations allow for a 2-pay grade reduction if the organization is required to relocate or if the mission area is overstaffed or no longer viable. This initiative would also encourage those federal employees that are eligible for retirement to go ahead and drop paperwork. This has the potential to reduce overall staffing costs by increasing the number of entry level employees.
Realistically if you look at the cost of living comparison between the DC Metro and Iowa, an individual could theoretically accept a 38% reduction in salary and maintain the same standard of living (Bankrate.com) A person making $66,690 in DC translates to a $42,158 salary in Iowa. This being based upon cost of living decreases such as auto insurance (DC=$177/mo IA=$88/mo). The government also pays out a huge amount in transit benefits in the DC metro to encourage employees to take public transit. This can be up to $250 per month depending on Congressional approval. Since this is generally a pass-through to local governments it may waver but usually comes back.
OPM allows for relocation authorization for employees not to exceed 25% of their base salary times the number of years of service not to exceed 4. In our example that could be between $13,000 and $53,000…but the recovery of that cost can occur through the reduction in salary and benefit costs between 2.5 and 10 years.
Attrition through retirement or departure will account for a partial reduction in overall staffing levels. Recruitment events held in the targeted towns and cities would serve as a method of educating and recruiting local talent. Federal human capital and recruiting teams can partner with local high schools, Junior colleges, universities and trade schools to collaborate on priming the pump for those skill sets the agency would seek to hire.
Buildings and facilities
The Feds currently lease around 8 Million square feet of office space in the DC metro area. The cost per square foot for leased office space is between $45 and $52 per square. Average cost per square foot of leased office space in Iowa is $12 - $15.
Redirection of appropriated facilities funding – DHS, in their 2016 budget had appropriated $215,822,000 for Headquarters consolidation. I would argue that $215M goes a bit further out in the real world than it does in the DC Metro region.
Effectiveness
I’m am basing this on a supply-chain sort of methodology. How many stages and steps are there between the materials, production, transport and delivery? Cutting down on the number of steps and go-betweens as well as doing some real QA/QC on activities of the agency. Immediate feedback on applied policy or operational decisions improves efficiency of services delivered and seeks to avoid needless wasted resources because a decision is made by a policy wonk operating in a vacuum.
Congressional delegations operating in their home district would be able to engage with the Federal Agencies most likely to impact constituents and improve communications between the citizen, legislator and agency.
Again, this isn’t exhaustive, just what I’ve got sketched out currently.
Poke holes please.
....also stop policies that reward irresponsible behavior i.e. abuse of emergency room, Medicaid, medicare, foodstamps, etc.
I'm sure there would be no lack of sage consulting available.
Hybrid Mode
