Save Award 2010 Department of the Interior

I would like to expound on the idea of using canal water turbines by the Bureau. While it is true that the canals are in use for approximately six months out of the year, the benefits should be reconsidered.
1) Canal water turbines will run 24 hours a day generating electricity. They are not dependent on sunlight, just water, so a cloudy day will not hinder production of electricity.
2) Electricity generated during... more »

I suggest using an on-line, web-based system for the management of outdoor recreation programs (hunting and fishing) on federal properties such as military installations, wildlife refuges, national forests, etc. At NAS Patuxent River, we customized a commerically available software program (iSportsman) for the issuance of hunting/trapping and fishing/shellfishing/crabbing permits, as well as electronic distribution of... more »

Having worked in every level of government I have seen my fair share of dead weights. It's unfortunate that many hard working people have to work harder to make up for employees who won't or can't do their job. Too many times these problem employees are ignored by management for the sake of not addressing difficult issues. This only increases the workload for and demoralizes the existing staff. There needs to mentoring... more »

I believe money could be saved by reducing the amount of funding spent on minor / superficial repairs being done to vehicles before returning them to GSA. Before vehicles are returned, minor dents, scratches, blemishes, and uphostery flaws are required to be repaired or the returning agency is billed for higher than local prices for repairing these minor flaws (according to the local fleet manager). Based on recent... more »

Continue building the border barrier to decrease the incidence of illegals in this country which cost the country in medical assistance, lower wages and no recouping of tax revenue from the wages they earn under the table

When we decide we no longer need or want a building or structure, we are required, among other thigs, to have a "Historical Significance" study done on the subject property. We have to arrange for a person in our Regional Office to travel many miles, sometimes hundreds of miles with per diem, to meet with us so we can show them the unwanted building or structure. Often times there may be more than just the one building... more »

Instead of paying a contractor to provide PCS move-related activities which frequently costs an agency over $100,000, it would be more cost effective to provide a moving "incentive" to agency employees for an amount less than the $100,000. As an example, the agency could offer to pay an employee $60,000 for a PCS move. This would cost the agency less, given the above example of $100,000, and it would be logistically... more »

Combine the federal and state duck and goose stamps into 1 stamp. Whatever the fees are for the federal and state stamps could be totaled for the one stamp. Each state could then reimburse the federal government the fees collected that were for the federal part of the stamp. That would eliminate having to pay an artist for the design of a federal only stamp and the costs of printing the stamps could be shared by both... more »

Despite guidance of the FAR individulal contracting offices seem to interpret that guidance drastically differently... from agency to agency, CO to CO. While the FAR has not changed significantly in the recent past, it seems that the ability to get projects through the contracting process has become more and more cumbersome... almost to the point where, for some offices, its no longer "risk management", its only 100%... more »

Reorganize and streamline agencies (not just talk about it) and stop creating and refilling GS15 and SES managmeent positions, especially in D.C. About 80% of funding is salary and benefits -- if we want to make some significant cuts, lets not create or refill government jobs if we don't have to. Work happens more efficiently at the source of the problem at a regional and local level. Stop creating uneccessary "administrative"... more »

We should consolidate weather, rainfall, creek and river flow rate information gathering. Seems like there are various state and federal and , possibly, local agencies gathering the same information for various reporting reasons. I suggest finding out which agencies are gathering like information in a specific area and combining manpower, expertise and equipment in an effort to reduce duplicate efforts for the same reason.... more »

We need to change our mindset. Look at how many of us have the "not in my backyard" attitude. I was browsing through and noticed that nearly every comment that says something about our salary has several "disagrees." Everybody wants to save money but nobody is willing to have it directly affect them. We are all suffering here. You think we have it bad? You should see what some of the state agencies are going through.... more »

We spend months in meetings and via emails, drafting criteria for IT specifications to go in software purchases (could be hardware too). If someone (NIST? or hold a contest and reward the person who wrote the best app) would write a database application, with tables of all the features users needed/wanted, lists of vendors/products with standardized feature syntax, and vendors would verify (a la SCAP) that their products... more »

I don't know if this saves money, but it would certainly be more efficient. Currently, we order license plates when a vehicle comes in and the vehicle/equipment sits until the license plate comes in (sometimes 8+ weeks). So we have assets that can't be used for a couple of months. As a Fleet Manager it seems to me we should operate like local DMV's and order our license plates in bulk and in advance. When a new vehicle... more »

Abolish the IRS. Amendment 16 is unconstitutional according to the Supreme Court. Create a flat federal tax across the board.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173#