A public policy think tank has released a report that says Kentucky could save around $170 million over the next five years by going electronic with some of its operations.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s report says the savings can be achieved through replacing routine state government employee tasks with self-service tools online, as well as optimizing operations with data and analytics.
ITIF founder and president Robert Atkinson says moving to electronic processes could mean fewer state government jobs.
“It definitely means eliminating work," Atkinson said. "Now, whether that means eliminating jobs, that’s up to the state to decide.”
According to a Lexington Herald-Leader state employee database, the state government employed more than 41,000 people as of 2013.
Atkinson said state governments could incentivize online processes with much lower fees to kickstart the change. He said existing online options could use some work, too.
“Sometimes the processes are not very user-friendly," Atkinson said. "It’s not like going to Amazon or going to YouTube or something like that. It can be a lot more complicated for people, so they tend not to do it.”
The same report projects Illinois could save more than $425 million in this way over the next five years, while Tennessee’s state government could save up to $194 million.
