2025 Governor’s Summit Panel:
NDOT Spotlights Accomplishments, Savings for Nebraskans

 

On Aug. 13-14, hundreds of Nebraskans gathered in Kearney for the annual Governor’s Summit and inaugural Governor’s Youth Summit. While attendees were briefed on the latest trends impacting the state’s manufacturing, workforce development, agriculture and emerging bioeconomy, attendees also heard how state agencies are working to improve services without increasing their budgets.

 

Gov. Jim Pillen led the panel discussion featuring the following agency leaders:

  • Matthew McCarville, chief information officer for the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO);
  • Lee Will, chief operating officer and director of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS);
  • Vicki Kramer, director of the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT); and
  • Rob Jeffreys, director of the Department of Correctional Services (NDCS). 

 

Running Government Like a Business

The agency leaders highlighted technology modernization, budget adjustments, project streamlining and increasing program  participation as keys to their recent successes.

Kramer highlighted  NDOT’s creation of the Nebraska Infrastructure Hub (IHub), which helps local agencies confidently compete for federal funding without requiring additional taxpayer dollars.

 

“We’re not increasing our budget,” Kramer said. “We’re doing it with what we have and we’re providing better service.”

 

At NDCS, reentry and wellbeing program  participation among incarcerated individuals has jumped from 7% to 23.5% since April, nearly meeting the agency’s goal of 25%. Jeffreys said the mission of NDCS is to change lives with the three-pronged approach to re-entry for incarcerated individuals – planning for release, vocational life skills programming and workforce development/career services.

 

Will emphasized DAS’s focus on trimming wasteful spending. This allowed the state to invest in major priorities, such as replacing the Nebraska State Penitentiary and fully funding the $600 million Perkins County Canal project.

 

From OCIO, the agency responsible for providing technology services and managing IT deployment across state agencies, McCarville noted that technology upgrades are improving efficiency without sacrificing service.

 

“We might be late to modernization,” he said, “but that has given us an edge to move quickly.”

 

Leaner Government, Better Service


The panel highlighted how agencies are achieving financial savings without hurting Nebraskans. At OCIO, the agency is preparing for the future by building a pipeline of interns and entry-level talent to help fill gaps and ensure continuity in service.

 

At NDOT, efficiency is being driven through process changes. For example, the agency has assumed environmental review responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), reducing project timelines and adding efficiency and flexibility in decision making.

 

“That means we can deliver transportation solutions to Nebraskans much faster,” Kramer said. “A process that once took decades will now take just a handful of years.”

 

Across Nebraska’s state government agencies, the mission is clear: deliver better services, reduce costs and invest wisely in Nebraska’s future without asking more from taxpayers.

 

“We have a culture of deep care and commitment to be the best,” Gov. Pillen said. “We’ve got an extraordinary cabinet of leaders to help bring us up to be way beyond what we ever thought.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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