Iowa must look toward consolidating state agencies, school districts, and counties as a way to help balance the state budget, a key legislator said at a recent IowaPolitics.com forum in Davenport.
"What we're going to have to do is consolidate," said Representative David Jacoby (D-Coralville), chair of the economic-development budget subcommittee. "We're going to look at consolidation, streamlining, and at the same time improving services."
Jacoby said legislators are working to consolidate the Department of Economic Development, Iowa Workforce Development, and the Department of Cultural Affairs. "It makes sense to me that we move these three agencies together under the same roof," he said. "It saves an administrative cost and it saves in rent that we're paying. That is a big leap I think we'll take at the state level."