If we were to go back in time to six months ago and mention the term “government efficiency,” there would be many that would have no idea as to the meaning of those two words combined.
However, nearly everyone is now aware of the phrase and its intentions as a result of what we have seen out of the first couple of months of President Donald Trump’s second administration.
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Now, there is a push in our backyard by State Senator Mayes Middleton to reconstruct how our state government looks and operates in the future.
The approach is to not only save money for Texans, but also to make government more efficient in the Lone Star State.
The approach is to potentially relocate some state offices and agencies out of Austin, the city with the highest cost of living in the state.
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The move is designed to primarily save dollars from taxpayers, while also putting government workers closer to where they may better serve those that rely on them.
“There is no reason why you couldn’t relocate multiple functions, decentralize everything out of Austin” said Jim Wade, a former board member of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).
2 Investigates recently met with Wade as he was fighting to get a condo building—where he owns three units—back to where it once was after suffering significant damage during last summer’s Hurricane Beryl.
During our investigation, we spoke with property and small business owners as well as elected officials regarding the potential move of state offices and agencies out of Austin.
“It makes a lot of sense,” said Houston Mayor John Whitmire. “If they are going relocate some major agencies at the state, we will request that [Houston] be considered.”
“I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s overdue,” said Clay Morrison, a public insurance adjuster out of League City.
For decades, Morrison has been dealing with insurance corporations. His company focuses on consulting with families after they have endured property loss after a tropical storm or hurricane.
We spoke to Morrison about TWIA, an agency he has dealt with consistently over the years and one that has been mentioned in the past for a potential move.
“It would make sense to have an agency that is handling windstorm losses, located near where their policy holders are,” said Morrison.
Wade echoed the sentiment.
“They’d have a better understanding of what we have to go through when a storm impacts the area,” he added.
Ray Hunt, the Executive Director of the Houston Police Officers Union and former member of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement believes that certain moves make sense.
“TCOLE right now is renting office space in a non-state building. It’s very, very expensive,” said Hunt.
In fact, we found a previous commercial real estate “for lease” listing for the building that TCOLE has on their website as their office address. The building is located a few miles away from the capitol but in the heart of capital city.
“Most of the people who work at TCOLE, don’t live in Austin because they can’t afford to live in Austin,” said Hunt.
Everyone we spoke with agreed that the legislative push saves dollars and move some state offices and agencies makes sense.
“It’s not that hard to work with a workforce that is dispersed. We’re all doing it,” said Jim Blackburn, an Environmental Attorney based in Houston.
However, Blackburn feels that while an agency like Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) along with others may benefit with a move of their personnel, they still should retain a key presence near the capitol.
“I think there is a need for the leadership of the state agencies to be in Austin,” said Blackburn.
As the proposal of relocation continues to make its way through the House and Senate, there is still one pivotal question. Can such a move make business more efficient for the likes of TWIA and others?
“I would think so and be more responsive, not having to wait of getting someone out of Austin to come down and see what the problem was,” said Wade.
