‘I leave your ranks with heartfelt thanks’
Editor’s note: The following is a letter Mitch Daniels sent state employees Friday.
Dear Co-worker:
Today is the last day I can address you that way, and I will miss that. For eight years it has been my privilege to be, as you are, an employee of the 6.5 million good people we call Hoosiers, and to call you my colleague.
On Jan. 10, 2005, the first day of our mutual service, I wrote you for the first time. Since I had long since forgotten exactly what I said, I’m quite sure you have, too (if you were even here to receive it; one in 2.25 state employees has joined us since that time). So I dug that letter up for rereading, and am attaching it for your reference.
I think it is fair to say that, working together, we have lived up to the aspirations of that first day long ago. Indiana state government is dramatically different, from the way it used to be and from any other state government I know of.
We set out to achieve real results, and you did so. That’s not an opinion, it’s a provable fact. We say it with certainty because we have measured our performance in every way we could think of. In department after department, service levels, turnaround times, customer satisfaction, error rates, whatever result a given mission aims at achieving, have improved, often by huge degrees. Department after department has won national awards and recognition.
We now have a system, and I hope it’s true to say a culture, of performance and accountability in Indiana state government. Working harder or smarter now earns the recognition it deserves. Every worker is entitled to regular, candid feedback about the job he or she is doing, and when that work quality is exceptional, to enhanced pay raises, and perhaps bonuses or other rewards for a job well done. No other state we know of operates this way.
Best of all, our fellow citizens recognize the great work you are doing. In a national study last year, 77 percent of Hoosiers said their state government was doing an effective job. It was the best rating in any state in the nation.
To me, what you have accomplished goes beyond tax dollars saved or far better service provided. That 77 percent number tells us that, at least in this state, most citizens believe that government is on their side. That it is made up of people who are not just collecting a public paycheck but are trying hard every day to deliver highly ethical, conscientious, service in return for each tax dollar it collects.
Our free society requires that sort of basic public confidence. We will always debate how much government to have, how much it should spend, and what its priorities should be. But it is critical that those arguments take place in an atmosphere not of cynicism and division, but of some common trust that, whatever decisions our democratic process makes, those decisions will be carried out faithfully and well, and in the interest of all.
This is your accomplishment. Supervisors and agency heads didn’t do it, and it’s for certain that no mere governor could do it.
For eight years, we have asked state government to operate on the basis of continuous improvement, on the principle that “good enough never is.” I leave your ranks with heartfelt thanks for what you have done to prove that government can shoot straight, and can treat taxpayer dollars with the care and respect they deserve. And I go in the hope that you will never rest but will keep on delivering results that are better every single year.
Thank you for everything.
Mitch Daniels, Indiana governor
Letters
Letter to the editor - Monday, Jan. 14, 2013
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May 22, 2013: Letters to the editor
Servicemen enemies of U.S. Constitution?
One of the enduring features of our constitutional republic is the right of its citizens to know what their government is doing. The current administration has decided to develop new policies on religious tolerance in the military.
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May 21, 2013: Letters to the editor
Tipton development: A study in contrasts
These are exciting times for Tipton County, with Chrysler coming to the county and bringing more than 800 legitimate jobs.
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Letter to the Editor: May 13, 2013
Good people wouldn’t do this to their neighbors. This common refrain is being heard over eastern Howard County where industrial development is planned for our farmland in the form of massive wind turbines.
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Letters to the Editor: May 12, 2013
How fortunate, that after years of trying to bring top-notch wind energy companies to Tipton County, this great choice is here for us — just at the right time. Tipton County badly needs the revenue from clean wind farm companies.
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Letter to the Editor: May 10, 2013
As a taxpayer and concerned citizen of eastern Howard County, I have read some of the latest scholarly and peer-reviewed information available on industrial wind turbines. It’s not something I ever wanted to do or expected to do, and I do not pretend to be an expert even after reading much information.
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Letters to the Editor: May 9, 2013
More than 1,500 Hoosier children just received an early death sentence from the Indiana Legislature. By slashing the state budget for tobacco prevention and cessation by 38 percent, our lawmakers told us that the health and future of our children isn’t important.
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Letters to the Editor: May 8, 2013
The citizens of Howard County have watched Tipton County’s elected officials deal with growing opposition to wind farms. They have responded to the concern of their citizens and are reviewing their ordinances related to wind development.
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May 5, 2013: Letters to the editor
All at IU Kokomo deserve recognition
This week, nearly 550 Indiana University Kokomo students will reach a milestone they will treasure for a lifetime when they become IU Kokomo's newest graduates.
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May 2, 2013: Letters to the editor
Reports of climate change span decades
From an article in The Washington Post:
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May 1, 2013: Letters to the editor
Turbine setbacks fail to protect vulnerable
Counties throughout Indiana are now beginning to rewrite their zoning ordinances pertaining to industrial wind turbines, due to new health and safety information coming out almost daily.
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May 22, 2013: Letters to the editor
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