Press Release: Mills to Perform "Green Audit" as Secretary of State

Initiative to save taxpayers money and lessen environmental footprint

March 2, 2010 - Michael Mills today announced plans to perform a comprehensive "green audit" of the Georgia Secretary of State's office within the first 100 days of his administration. The audit's goal is to find and reduce financial waste and limit detrimental environmental practices.

The Secretary of State's office impacts a wide swath of citizen lives' through the Archives, Corporations, Elections, Professional Licensing and Securities Divisions. More than 300 employees work at four facilities across Georgia, delivering services that run the gamut from ensuring fair elections to licensing more than 40 different professions. The "green audit" seeks to root out financial waste, ensuring that the offices are properly staffed to deliver top-notch customer service without unnecessary overhead. The audit will also identify opportunities to improve the office's environmental footprint, reducing energy use, recycling waste and leveraging technology to eliminate reams of paper, etc. The final report will present opportunities to create a culture and tangible policies that ensure taxpayer dollars are used efficiently and the office's environmental footprint is reduced.

The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts currently reviews a limited set of performance metrics for various government agencies each year. However, the last review of the Secretary of State's office focused solely on "financial and compliance activities" and did not include a comprehensive performance audit or environmental analysis. Mills will leverage existing state data where possible and leverage private auditors from the financial and environmental sectors to review all functions of the Secretary of State's office and recommend policies to increase fiscal responsibility and environmental stewardship.

The audit's first phase will analyze the office's financial performance, including staffing levels, the physical plant and budgets. Phase two will measure the office's carbon footprint and review practices related to energy and material use in all facilities. A final report will be completed within the first 100 days of the new administration. From there, each Division will develop and fully-implement "action plans" in the first year of Mills' administration.

"The state of Georgia is suffering through one of the most protracted recessions in history and we also face significant environmental issues that require each of us to play a role in developing solutions," said Mills. "This comprehensive audit will ensure we root out financial waste while also becoming a more environmentally sustainable office."

Mills has worked on environmental issues for companies both small and large throughout his career. Accomplishments include:

Serving as a strategist on the 2001 Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Clean Water Initiative, which brought government, business and environmental leaders together to develop legislation creating the state's first water management district - Governor Roy Barnes signed the bill into law in 2001

Creating a statewide coalition of businesses, labor unions, citizens and local governments to push for achievable solutions to global warming

Driving corporate sustainability policies and practices for both small and large companies - increasing engagement with the environmental community while reducing their carbon footprint, and cutting energy and water usage

"Businesses, visitors and new residents have relocated to Georgia for decades because of our low cost-of-living and high-quality of life," Mills said. "Unfortunately the bills of this success have come due and our recent failure to tackle fiscal and environmental problems has created competition from neighboring states, which threatens Georgia's future." He continued, "being better stewards of taxpayer dollars and our natural resources will make Georgia more competitive while also remaining a great place to live and do business."