3 months into job, Guinn adjusts pace

Monday, March 29, 1999 | 9:27 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- In his first three months in office, Gov. Kenny Guinn has come to a realization: He's not in the private sector anymore.

The wheels of state government move more slowly than he expected, and serious problems such as the near-bankrupt state employees health plan and the trouble-plagued and costly welfare computer system are left to fester for lack of action.

The new Republican governor, who's never held elective office before, says he's working harder than he ever has, starting his days in the early morning and working into the night.

But for all the frustration, Guinn said in an interview, he's enjoying himself.

His first three months in office have been an education for Guinn, who was Clark County superintendent of schools, interim president of UNLV and Southwest Gas executive before becoming governor.

"What I had to adjust to is, things don't move as quickly as one would like to see," he said. Even if it's a money-saving idea, it has to go through committees, a time-consuming process.

For instance, he has worked with Treasurer Brian Krolicki on a plan to refinance the government's debt, which could mean $5 million to $10 million in savings. In private industry, he said, that could be accomplished quickly, but it takes time in government. And that means the state could lose out on the market's most favorable terms.

He's frustrated because there's no way to reward state workers who perform above and beyond the call of duty. In private business, bonuses can be given for a good suggestion or program.

In state government, he said, the reward for initiative is the same as the punishment for mediocre work: nothing.

And unlike in the private sector, the governor's office gets daily interruptions from tours by students from all over the state. He wouldn't have it any other way, he said. "Sometimes it is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those kids." But it can affect the work flow.

"There may be three or four different groups in a day, and that takes away large blocks of time for concentration on major issues," he said. But he said he is adjusting to that part of the job, too.

Few criticisms so far

The Republican governor is still in his honeymoon period. And he knows there may be some controversy ahead as the Legislature starts making decisions that could conflict with the governor's plans.

But so far, public criticism by Democrats has been muted.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said Guinn "is doing like (President) Clinton ... taking the good things from the Democrats and making them his own. That's hard to attack."

Up until now, she said, Guinn hasn't established much of a presence in the Legislature. He's been busy in high schools and in meetings promoting his Millennium Scholarship project, which would take $24 million of the money the state will receive from the tobacco settlement and create scholarships for Nevada students to attend state colleges or universities.

But, she said, Guinn has been "open and friendly and cooperative."

Guinn is "doing all right," Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, said. He called the chief executive a "capable administrator" who is honest. And the fact that Guinn kept most of the agency chiefs from the administration of Gov. Bob Miller, Dini noted, has made the transition smooth.

Many lawmakers have been friends for years with Guinn, who was involved in a number of government studies involving reorganization and pay for elected officials.

Still, Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee are grousing about the growing stack of revisions being made to Guinn's $3 billion budget submitted in January. The governor said he wants changes made only when errors are found. For instance, he said, there's a $5.3 million omission in the budget for UNLV that must be corrected, though it's not the $10 million claimed by the southern campus.

Democratic budget-builders are also not happy with plans to privatize the medical program in the state prison system, and there's opposition to giving the governor flexibility in his office's budget to hire fewer people but pay some executives more.

For his part, Guinn wonders why the Legislature, with all the major issues confronting it, tries to micromanage state agencies.

"Why do we get a request from the Legislature, with all the big items facing it ... why do they want to know why the prison system ordered 600 pounds of salt?" he asked.

Managing 'by observation'

It's a criticism that could apply to Guinn as well. He personally changed the hours of the janitors in the state Capitol, ordered low-watt bulbs at the governor's mansion and directed a refurbishing of the tattered front desk for Capitol Police. He defended his actions, calling them "management by observation" that don't take much time.

Guinn does have bigger issues to concern him, and he is not shirking the tasks. In addition to a budget that fell short by $140 million, he inherited two crises that have been growing worse for years for lack of action -- the health insurance program for state workers and the welfare computer system.

The health insurance program had no increases in premiums for three years, something that Guinn says should have been a "red flag" warning those in charge that something was amiss.

Other insurance programs, he said, were hit with premium increases anywhere from 5 percent to 7 percent a year.

The state is bailing out the system, which had its deductibles raised to stem the losses. "We've got to stop the deterioration and reinstate reasonable benefits," Guinn said.

Guinn is also focusing on Nomads, the welfare division's computer system that started as a $25 million project 10 years ago. The cost has risen to more than $70 million, and it's still not working. It's to the point now, Guinn said, that the federal government is charging the state penalties for not getting the system working -- fines that could total more than $3 million next year.

But the hottest issue in Nevada, according to Guinn, is his Millennium Scholarship plan to use $24 million a year for scholarships for high school graduates with "B" averages. Students going on to the university could receive $80 per credit and those attending community college $40 per credit.

Democrats have their own version of the plan, advocating spending $12 million a year for scholarships with the rest going to health programs.

"Who wants to be governor of a state that has the highest dropout rate and the lowest rate of high school graduates that do on to college?" he asked.

He's in no mood for compromise on this issue. "There is no bill worth dying for except Millennium Scholarships," he said.

He argues that kids who are better educated are less likely to smoke, achieving one of the aims of the tobacco settlement. Guinn doesn't agree with the Democratic proposal that would eliminate children from wealthy families getting the scholarship. At the worst, he said, it would mean some rich alumni from the Nevada system.

Guinn said he's talked to 30 major companies already to get them to add money to the scholarship fund. And he says he will ask most employers in the state to pony up some money.

He has yet to say how he would spend the other 50 percent of the tobacco money, but it will go into health programs. Details of his proposals should be ready in a week to 10 days, he said.

He's ready to do battle when the time comes, but Guinn's routine smacks more of the guy at the next desk rather than soldier or governor.

Meeting state workers

Guinn sometimes has coffee in the shop in the state building next to the Capitol before arriving for work so he can chat with state employees. And he uses the public facilities down the hall instead of his private bathroom to provide him an opportunity to get out of his office. Inevitably he stops to talk to people on the way.

Those are small things, he said, but important to keeping in touch with the public.

Guinn said he's always been a hard worker, but never as hard as this. "I have not had two days off in a row," he said, without complaint. And the days, he said, are usually 12 to 14 hours long.

After the Legislature, he said, "I will have to pull back and be a more focused leader."

"I can't make state government run like a Swiss clock," he said. "But I want to leave a structure that will make it easier for the next person."

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