Even in a healthy economy, smart money management is essential to the goal of civil servants and government employees.

Without protecting the tax payer's dollars, the very purpose of representing the needs of the people is thwarted. This is why I found the need to encourage an investigation into cost saving strategies that Ventura County can take, and the results have been amazing.

I want to publicly express the board of supervisor's gratitude to the General Services and Health Care agencies for what they have done and are continuing to do to increase the quality of our services, benefit our environment and implement incredible cost savings.

Cost saving strategies have already resulted in $27.5 million of annual savings, without cutting a single program.

I introduced the cost saving presentations to the board on Sept. 16 from the Ventura County General Services and Health Care agencies regarding the techniques that have been implemented to save county costs.

The presentation was not only interesting and incredibly beneficial to our county, but displayed a mentality even more important today considering the state budget crisis and the economic issues we are facing.

Paul Grossgold of the General Services Agency presented their cost saving results, which evidenced an intense focus on continually finding savings and increasing efficiency.

Not only did their efforts result in $2.5 million of annual savings, but immense environmental improvements and an increased effectiveness in county services.

The key was to re-look at how we function, not spend more money, Grossgold said.

The three main cost saving strategies for GSA were to increase value purchasing, reduce use and buy less, and to have a continued focus on process improvement.

Environmentally GSA has greatly reduced paper usage, helping both taxpayer's pockets and the planet, reduced pesticide use at the government center by 80%, and reduced water usage by 48,000,000 gallons by simply managing and targeting irrigation, and aggressively eliminating leaks.

Mike Powers gave the detailed Health Care Agency's presentation, which unveiled an incredible total saving of 25 million dollars, while increasing the quality of service the citizens of Ventura County receive. The main strategies for the Health Care Agency were labor controls, supply management, and process improvement.

It is results such as these that show over and over again that our greatest resources for improvement are our employees. Which is why at the September 16, 2008 Board meeting I recommended a renovated incentive based employee suggestion program for Ventura County. Because the goal is to continually focus on process improvements.

The key is that there are innovative and creative solutions to budget problems, which has led to my continued focus on finding ways to implement fiscal conservatism and eliminate waste in county government.

I want my constituents to know that I am determined to guard their money as if it were my own, and demand smart money management from their elected officials.