Stay tuned for more information on the keynote speaker and the date and location of our awards luncheon. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing your ideas on how to streamline government. The Innovation Loan Program, one of the winning ideas of the 1997 Competition, may be implemented in Westford. Jack Wrobel, chairman of the town's Board of Selectmen, attended last November's BGC Awards Dinner where he learned of the successful program, already successfully operating in Gresham, Oregon. The city manager of Gresham developed the idea of a reserve fund that department innovative employees could draw from to implement cost-saving ideas that could not be paid for through their department's operating budget.
Money saved by the new program is used to pay back the loan.
The town of Westford could use a similar fund to purchase new equipment for the fire department or even introduce a state of the art chemical used to de-ice roadways. Past BGC Accomplishments Implementation of a plan from our first Better Government Competition in 1991 to create a management system for the state's vehicle fleet continues to save the Commonwealth's taxpayers millions of dollars each year. A 1994 proposal to make establishment of paternity a prerequisite for receiving cash welfare benefits was included in the Commonwealth's sweeping new welfare reform law. Child support provisions from the same proposal are included in welfare reform bills passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The Commonwealth's fiscal 1996 budget included funding for Best Friends, another 1994 winner.