Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement States, cities reducing workforces amid budget crunch Subscribe to The Georgia Statement today!!! In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times State Purchasing Division Wins Acclaim While Continuing Transformation View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health With tax revenues coming in at an ever-slowing pace, state and local governments across the country have begun downsizing in an attempt to meet statutory budget requirements. More... New Leadership in Georgia C. J. Hooks Jekyll Island State Parks Authority Gale Buckner State Board of Pardons and Paroles The members of the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC) voted to elect Susan Hart Ridley as the director of the Finance and Investment Division of GSFIC. Ridley has previously served as Deputy Director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget since 2004. The board of Employees' Retirement System of Georgia (ERS) elected Pamela Pharris as the new executive director of ERS. Pamela Pharris was previously a senior manager with the benefits consulting firm of Hewitt Associates in Atlanta. Pamela Susan Ridley Pharris Georgia Employees' State The Jekyll Island State Parks Authority selected C. Jones Hooks to serve as the Authority's new Retirement Financing executive director. System of Georgia (ERS) and Previously, Mr. Hooks Investment served as President and CEO of the Hampton Commission Roads Economic (GSFIC) Development Alliance in Norfolk, Virginia. Gale Buckner recently assumed the role of Chair of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Each year the Board selects one of its members to serve in this capacity as a representative for the Board and agency staff. Buckner's term follows that of Garland Hunt, who remains on the Board as a member. New leave conversion process eliminates paper More... For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters The Georgia Department of Agriculture Meet The Commissioner Vocabulary Serving Georgia for 134 Years Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times State Purchasing Division Wins Acclaim While Continuing Transformation View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health As a regulatory, consumer protection and education agency, the Georgia Department of Agriculture touches the lives of Georgia citizens every day. All of the food and fiber industry has a substantial impact on the state economy. The department's mission is to provide excellence in services and regulatory functions, to protect and promote agriculture and consumer interests, and to ensure an abundance of safe food and fiber for Georgia, America, and the world by using state-of-the-art technology and a professional workforce. Established by the General Assembly in 1874 amid post-Civil War economic hardships, it is the oldest state department of agriculture in the U.S. Unlike many of the state departments and agencies it is a constitutionally authorized department and its leader an elected constitutional officer, Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin. It is not a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ensuring safe food and fiber was part of the department mission long before "homeland security" and "agroterrorism" became part of everyday language. Over the years, the department has been assigned additional responsibilities to meet the ever-changing needs of Georgia farmers and consumers. For example, this agency has duties as varied as registering thousands of pesticides to licensing grocery stores, bakeries, all pet stores and equine boarding facilities throughout the state. Did you know? The department 1-800 number is printed on the inspection label for every fuel dispensing pump in the state. The number: 1-800-282-5852 is available 24 hours a day, switching after business hours to recording messages from consumers reporting problems and seeking information on a wide range of subjects. During business hours, all phones in the Georgia Department of Agriculture are answered by a person. When you call the Georgia Department of Agriculture you are guaranteed you will speak with a human being. Tommy Irvin Tommy Irvin is the longest serving Commissioner of Agriculture in the United States as well as the longest serving statewide official in Georgia. He has served as Georgia's Commissioner of Agriculture since 1969 and was elected to his 10th fouryear term in 2006. Commissioner Irvin is recognized nationally for his service as an agriculture leader with broad experiences and keen insights. He continues to be sought after on the local, state and regional levels not only for his knowledge and experience but also for his political acumen in working with diverse groups and individuals. A Georgia native, Tommy Irvin served four terms in the Georgia General Assembly as a Representative from Habersham County. He was the Governor's Floor Leader and later served as Executive Secretary to the Governor. Agriculture remains Georgia largest industry, generating more than $5.1 billion per year in cash receipts to the state economy. Despite all the changes in society, farming remains the foundation of the state economic well-being. Commissioner Irvin and his wife, Bernice, live on a farm in the Glade Creek Community of Habersham County. They are the parents of five children, 14 grandchildren and one greatgrandchild. All of Georgia nine million citizens are served by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. While all Georgians may not live on farms, the Georgia Department of Agriculture impacts their lives in some way, every day. Click Here for full bio For more information, please visit www.agr.georgia.gov Be sure to check out the agency bi-weekly newspaper: The Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin, which is available online as well as in printed form. The Bulletin began in 1917 and has been published ever since. It serves as a medium of exchange for Georgia farmers and consumers. Georgia residents may subscribe to the Bulletin free of charge, but out-of-state subscribers must pay a $20 annual fee. Current and past issues are available online. Click Here for more information on the department divisions... For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Shopping to Save Money Search: Georgia Statement Unless you grow all of your food, shopping for groceries is a given. Some folks take great joy in shopping; others, wait until the very last drop of milk, last slice of bread, or last frozen food dinner is left before venturing to the local grocery store. In either category, we know that food prices have taken a hit on our budgets. There are some ways to shop and save money. Coupon Shopping Tips s It is the little secret that some shoppers have used for years coupons. Yes, we know that some shoppers do not want to be caught using coupons. But for those who do, they are saving money. So, start looking at the coupons in the Sunday newspaper. Clip coupons while you are watching television. Enlist the children to help. s Get organized. Avoid a grocery store "breakdown" by having your coupons organized by type, e.g. food, soaps and detergents, paper products. You can label envelopes by category and store the applicable coupons. Some shoppers buy an accordion coupon file for their coupons. Whatever organization method you use, you will be thankful once you are in the store and you can easily view the shopping categories. Remember to review your coupons regularly to dispose the ones that have expired. By taking the time to develop "your" system, it will be much easier to save money on groceries because you will have the coupons readily available. s Before you go shopping, make your grocery list and then review your coupons. Remove the ones you plan to use and then put a check mark next to the item on your grocery list. While shopping, follow your grocery list closely and you will quickly see which items have a coupon. s Look for a grocery store that doubles the coupon values. Other Shopping Tips q Stores encourage impulse buying. They have developed their floor layout with shopping dollars in mind. Learn the layout of your stores and using your grocery list, make a dash to that item. Beware of the checkout aisles. There are many items placed there to test our impulse buying. q Make it a practice to grocery shop when you are not hungry. Impulse buying is higher when you are starved. q Consider the store's marketing strategies. Beware of the end-of-aisle dump bins, island displays and middle shelf items. These are typically the location of higher priced items or impulse products. q Include your grocery store's weekly advertisement in your saving plan. By using this along with coupons you can increase your savings. q Try store brands. You may like them. q Watch the scanner at checkout. Sometimes cashiers make mistakes that you can catch. Also, have your store circular with you in case an item on sale does not scan as a sale item. q Consider shopping at warehouse clubs or superstores for bulk buying. By preparing for your shopping trips and using some of these tips, you can stretch your dollars, save money, and have a sense of accomplishment. Go forth and save! Information from moneyinstructor.com and ehow.com Money Matters July Most of us feel stressed when we have financial difficulties. However, some of us may not be aware of how much our stress negatively impacts our health. Earlier this year, the Associated Press and America Online conducted a survey to measure how debt affects people's health. Below are some of the survey findings comparing people with high financial debt with those who have low financial debt. In each area of physical problems listed, people with high stress due to debt, were impacted more negatively than people with low debt stress. Money Matters June For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Vocabulary Test your Vocabulary. Definitions selected from Dictionary. com Vocabulary Quiz 1. To put forward or offer for consideration; set forth . A. Renege B. Apposite C. Moil D. Propound E. Asseverate 2. The act or an instance of speaking abusively to or about . A. Moil B. Remonstrate C. Vituperation D. Apposite E. Gravitas 3. Invested with or containing full power. A. Plenipotentiary B. Propound C. Apposite D. Renege E. Moil 4. To say or plead in protest, objection or disapproval. A. Moil B. Renege C. Gravitas D. Propound E. Remonstrate 5. Hard work; drudgery. A. Loquacious B. Remonstrate C. Moil D. Apposite E. Vituperation 6. To declare earnestly or solemnly; affirm positively. A. Apposite B. Asseverate C. Plenipoteniary D. Loquacious E. Gravitas 7. Talking or tending to talk much or freely, talkative. A. Renege B. Moil C. Vituperation D. Loquacious E. Apposite 8. Seriousness or sobriety, as of conduct or speech. A. Propound B. Gravitas C. Renege D. Remonstrate E. Moil 9. Pertinent; relevant. A. Moil B. Propound C. Plenipotentiary D. Apposite E. Renge 10. To go back on one's word. A. Asseverate B. Loquacious C. Moil D. Propound E. Renege Get score For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Select Criteria for Search To run a report, fill out the required criteria field(s) below. Fill out optional criteria fields to further refine the report results. In some cases, you may leave the fields blank to return all records. Agency Includes First Name Includes Last Name Includes Years of Service Includes Search Results per Page: 10 For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Cookies- August Technology Tip "Did someone mention cookies?" "Who made them?" Unless we are "techies", when someone mentions "cookies" we are ready to eat. So what is a non eatable cookie? It is a small data file consisting of a string of text and numbers on a computer. Cookies track every page we visit on a website. The only information in the string that you can recognize is the name of the website you visited. Only the computer can understand the rest of the information. Cookies are not computer programs and are unable to perform any operation alone. What is the Purpose of a Cookie? Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Cookies are commonly used to maintain the last known status of web sites you link to as you browse the internet. For example, if you started completing a form on a web site and then went to another web site, the information that you had already entered on the form would still be there. If there were no cookies, the information would be gone. Cookies are used to help personalize information on web pages such as My Yahoo and Excite, help with online sales and services for companies like Overstock, Amazon Books, and eBay, and help collect demographic information for companies such as DoubleClick. Cookies also allow programmers to quickly and conveniently refresh the site content relevant to a user's areas of interest. Consider cookies to be like a ticket at a coat check. When it's time to retrieve your coat, the coat can be matched to the ticket very quickly. If there were no tickets, you might find yourself wading through a sea of identical coats looking for your own. Similarly, web sites keep track of what sites you are interested in so the next time you visit, they can be called up quickly and remember who you are. When we visit the popular website Amazon.com and set up an account, a cookie will track this information and send the cookie to the server each time you access Amazon. You may recall that some sites personalize the page with your name. This was done by you providing the initial information and a cookie tracking it. Typically cookies are beneficial to web users as they make browsing a smooth and rapid process. Since a cookie cannot think, it stores only the information you have provided online. Next time you visit your favorite website and it tells you the weather in your town, suggests items that might interest you, or gives you the option of purchasing a product on the fly, remember: it's all about the cookies! www.cookiecentral.com and computer.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm Technology Tip July For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement State Purchasing Division Wins Acclaim While Continuing Transformation For an unprecedented 11th consecutive year, the DOAS State Purchasing Division has been awarded the Achievement of Excellence in Purchasing (AEP) award. Administered by the National Purchasing Institute, the AEP Award recognizes excellence in public sector Purchasing departments. The National Purchasing Institute is affiliated with the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and serves as the Official Public Sector Purchasing Association for federal, state and local governments. The State of Georgia is the only state in the country to have won this prestigious award for 11 years running. What is amazing about winning this award for so many years is the criteria used to evaluate submissions for the award continue to increase and become more difficult each year. For example, to gain points for the number of staff having been formally certified as Purchasing professionals, the percentage of staff needing certification has increased each year. Even more amazing is the State Purchasing Division has been undergoing a comprehensive transformation over the last 3 years, and yet the group continues to gain national acclaim. New staff, new processes, procedures and new purchasing tools have all contributed to the successful run of awards, and we expect to continue the positive results as the transformation of the state's Purchasing function moves forward. For the first time since the Procurement Transformation began, the State Purchasing Division has nearly finalized hiring staff for all its positions and new functions. Currently at about 90% capacity, some 70 staff members now compose the department, and hopefully our agency and university customers have noticed a difference in our work quality and service delivery. One area of focus for the State Purchasing Division in FY 2009 is to lower cycle times. The time it takes to process Requests for Quotes (RFQ's) and Requests for Proposals (RFP's) is of paramount importance to our customers. Already during the past year, the time it has taken to conduct a procurement solicitation utilizing RFP's has decreased by 6.7%, a reduction of nearly 2 weeks. For RFQ's, the cycle reduction is even more dramatic. In 2008, RFQ's now are processed 30% quicker than the previous year, shaving an entire month off the process. While much progress has been made, we aren't yet satisfied with the results, and thus we are reviewing the current process for both RFP's and RFQ's to further streamline the workflow and save even more time when conducting procurements. To assist in this effort, the State Purchasing Division (SPD) will soon be utilizing a scorecard to evaluate agency RFP's and RFQ's as they are received by SPD to determine areas for improvement. This will also to serve to identify any areas where additional training of agency or university Purchasing staff is warranted in order to further improve the quality of RFP/RFQ documents received by State Purchasing. Many of you who operate the Purchasing function of your respective agency have assisted SPD in lowering the cycle time for RFQ's by utilizing eQuote. eQuote is SPD's automated method to issue RFQ's in a most efficient manner. Since its statewide re-launch this past March, eQuote has processed over 750 RFQ's with the average award amounting to just under $20,000. Based on the difference between the highest and lowest quote for each of these solicitations, more than $10.5M in cost avoidance has been recorded by the various state agencies and universities utilizing the eQuote system. Progress on the PeopleSoft eProcurement Implementation also continues to proceed as planned. In the initial phase of implementation, the Department of Corrections and DHR, along with DOAS, will be the first agencies to pilot the new eProcurement system dubbed Team Georgia Marketplace. Deploying in early 2009, Team Georgia Marketplace will make it easier for buyers statewide to access both statewide and agency contracts, offering improved efficiency and effectiveness in the state Procurement process. As you can see, the State Purchasing Division continues to make tremendous strides to improve the state's Purchasing function. Here's hoping the changes are rewarded with a 12th consecutive Excellence in Purchasing Award this time next year. For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Workforce Tips (August) For Managers Employee Disengagement and Turnover StrengthsFinder, an internet talent assessment tool, is based on a general model of Positive Psychology, which consists of topics related to happiness, satisfaction, optimism, etc. in the workforce. The StrengthsFinder assists an individual in identifying his or her talents for building strengths and increasing the likelihood of success. Tom Rath, author of StrengthsFinder 2.0 for the Gallup Management Journal, discusses the strong link between a leader's focus and employee engagement. There are three conclusions from the research completed on conversation, engagement, and strengths: s The employee's chances of being actively disengaged are 40%, if the manager primarily ignores the employee. s The employee's chances of being actively disengaged are 22%, if the manager primarily focuses on the employee's weaknesses. s The employee's chances of being actively disengaged are only 1%, if the manager focuses on the employee's strengths. These conclusions reinforce the need for managers to frequently talk with their employees about their strengths. Reasons why employees leave A Watson Wyatt Worldwide and WorldatWork survey reflects that the United States has the highest staff turnover rate, 11%, in a poll of 946 companies with a total of 13,000 employees. Primarily employees are satisfied when they have a balance of stress levels and work-life. Additionally, when employees see that their performance has a real impact on rewards and that management follows through, they become more committed and confident with opportunities within the company. In the book, The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize The Subtle Signs and Act Before It's Too Late, author Leigh Branham discusses the following seven reasons for employee turnover. 1. The job or workplace was not as expected. 2. There was a mismatch between job and person 3. There was too little coaching and feedback 4. There were too few growth and advancement opportunities. 5. Employees feel devalued and unrecognized 6. Employees are stressed from overwork and work-life imbalance. 7. A loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders. For Employees Click here for Employees' Tip "Maybe it will just go away, if I put it off." "I really am not into this." "I can't concentrate." The list can go on and on when we try to put off a task. Procrastination prevents us from moving from one task to another. What are the common signals that you may be a procrastinator? This issues' employee tip provides the signals, reasons for procrastination and ways to beat it Workforce Tips For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Fun in the Sun Search: Georgia Statement Our long summer season in the South is the envy of many folks who live in colder climates. We have the luxury of more days of "fun in the sun." Of course the added health benefits are Vitamin D, which helps us absorb calcium, and exercising our bodies. However, we know that too much sunlight is harmful. The sun's ultraviolet rays can cause skin damage and even skin cancer. Sunlight Ultraviolet Rays Sun rays contain three types of ultraviolet rays: 1. UVA rays are the majority of our sun exposure, since these rays pass effortlessly through our earth's ozone layer. UVA rays can cause skin aging, wrinkling, and skin cancer. 2. UVB rays are largely absorbed by the ozone layer, but enough of the rays pass through to cause damage. Also these rays can cause cancer in addition to cataracts and immune system damage. 3. UVC rays, the most dangerous rays, are blocked by the ozone thus preventing them from reaching earth. Melanin and UV Rays Melanin, a skin pigment that gives skin its color, acts as a natural sunscreen to protect the skin from UV rays. Dark-skinned people have more melanin than light- skinned people. The lighter a person's natural skin color, less melanin is available to absorb UV rays, unlike darker skin color. However, both dark and light skins need protection from UV rays. UV rays are the strongest during summer. Protection from UV Rays While it is neither practical nor fun to totally avoid the sun, there are ways that you can practice good health with sun exposure. The American Cancer Society provides four key ways to reduce UV rays "Slip! Slop! Slap! Wrap!". s Slip on protective clothing while you are in the sun. Dark colors generally provide more protection than light colors. A tightly woven fabric protects better than loosely woven fabric. Dry fabric is generally more protective than wet fabric. If you can see through a fabric, UV rays can penetrate it. Clothing does not completely block out all UV rays. Sunscreen provides more sun coverage than a typical light T-shirt. s Slop on sunscreen. The sunrays are strongest between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. Since most sun damage occurs with incidental exposure, don't forget to wear sunscreen during day-to-day activities in the sun. The higher the SPF number on the sunscreen, the higher the protection from UV rays. Be generous applying sunscreen and for best results reapply the sunscreen after a couple of hours. Be sure to check the expiration dates on the sunscreen bottle since most sunscreen is not as effective after two to three years. s Slap on a hat. Wearing a hat with a two to three inch brim all around the hat, protects areas that are usually exposed to the sun, such as the neck, ears, eyes, forehead, nose, and scalp. A baseball cap only protects the front and top of the head. Skin cancers occur most commonly at the back of the neck and ears. Straw hats will not provide protection unless the fabric is tightly woven. s Wrap on sunglasses. Don't forget to wear your sunglasses. Research shows that prolong eye exposure to the sun increases chances of eye disease. Large and wraparound style sunglasses provide you protection from the light coming in from different angles. Sunglasses should provide 99% to 100% blockage to UV rays. Since UV protection comes from an invisible chemical applied to the glasses, the darkest lens does not guarantee the best protection. Read the labels. Other Ways to Protect Yourself s Limit your exposure to harmful UV rays by avoiding being in sunlight too long. UV rays are the most intense between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm. Take the shadow test. If your shadow is shorter than you, the sun's rays are the strongest. UV rays can pass through clouds and water. By reflecting sunlight, sand and snow increase the UV rays. s Avoid Tanning Beds and Sunlamps. Tanning beds and sunlamps are not harmless. Both can contribute to skin damage and skin cancer. s Protect children from the sun. Children spend between 50% and 80% of their lifetime exposed to the sun before the age of eighteen. Older children need to be educated about sun exposure. There are many brands of sun screens for children that include formulations for sensitive skin, fun scents, sweat-proof and easy applications in spray bottles. Babies under six months should be kept out of direct sunlight and dressed in protective clothing. States, cities reducing workforces amid budget crunch Wellness (June) For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Listen Up!!! Welcome to Let's Hear It! More than a year ago we introduced the forum in the Georgia Statement print publication. Your response was enormous. Now, with the new web friendly, online format of the Georgia Statement, state employees can post comments relative to a variety of subject areas created over the last year. Rules: The forum is strictly for state employees. All comments must be appropriate and professional. View our terms and conditions. Please do not post any private comments unless you want it to be available publicly. Keep comments brief and relative to the subject area of the posting. Discussion areas include: State government questions and answers q State Benefits q Compensation q State Performance System q Workforce Issues q Employee Work/Life Balance For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Helping Others Browse Here for opportunites to Help Others Featured Organization Georgia School for the Deaf The Georgia School for the Deaf (GSD) located in Cave Spring, Georgia (http://www.cityofcavespring.com) was established in 1846 as the tenth school for the deaf in the United States. more... Collection Programs In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available 1. Box Tops for Education http://www.boxtops4education.com or http://www.btfe.com 3 ways to earn: q Collect Box Tops q Shop online at the Box Tops Market Place q Order Books through the Box Tops Book Club We can earn up to $60,000 a year in this program. Publix Box Tops also has a website specifically for Box Tops http://www.publixboxtops.com 2. Campbell's Labels for Education http://www.labelsforeducation.com *Collect UPC codes from participating products. GSD then redeems those points for instructional supplies, materials, equipment, etc. 3. Tyson Project A+ http://www.tysonprojecta+.com *Collect SUPPORT YOUR SCHOOL 123 Red Labels. Each label is worth 24 cents. Earn up to $12,000 year in this program 4. School Pop http://www.schoolpop.com *Click here before you do any shopping on the internet. Participating merchants give a % of your purchase directly back to GSD* 5. Kroger Earning Plus Learning http://www.krogerearningpluslearning.com *Please print the Kroger Letter here and present to the cashier the next time you go shopping. A % of your purchases goes directly back to GSD. * 6. My Coke Rewards http://www.mycokerewards.com *Send your bottle caps or cardboard cut outs bearing the mycokerewards code for us to enter in our mycokerewards account. These points are then redeemed for materials we can use for either door prizes, auctions, or awards. You may also email me the codes and save the hassle of having to mail them or send them to school with your child. 7. Target - Take Charge of Education http://www.targettakechargeofeducation.com *Sign up to Support GSD and a % of your purchases at Target directly benefit GSD. 8. Nestle Pure Life - Go Play Labels http://www.goplaylabels.com *Collect the labels, turn them into the school. We then redeem them for equipment for our Wellness and Athletic programs. 9. GoodSearch and GoodShop http://www.goodsearch.com *Search the internet using this search engine and earn 1 penny back for every search you perform* *Good Shop on the Good Search website and a % of your purchases directly benefit GSD* 10. Search and Give http://www.searchandgive.com #1 - Search (Similar to the program 'GoodSearch' the http://www.searchandgive.com search engine allows you to do your internet searching on their website and earn 1 penny for every search you conduct; up to 10 cents per day per registered person) #2 - Play Scholastic Games (This part of the program allows you to play educational games that earn you tickets *similar to the paper tickets that come out of games at arcades* Each ticket is worth a penny. The best part...THERE IS NO LIMIT TO HOW MANY TICKETS YOU CAN EARN IN A DAY! 11. Phones for Good website: http://www.phonesforgood.com 12. UPromise website: http://www.upromise.com Featured Charity The Georgia School for the Deaf (GSD) located in Cave Spring, Georgia (http:// www.cityofcavespring.com) was established in 1846 as the tenth school for the deaf in the United States. We've been educating deaf and hard-of hearing students for 162 years, except from 1862-1867 when Fannin Hall was used by the Union and Confederate forces as a hospital. Today Deaf and hard-of-hearing students from over 50 counties in the State of Georgia, ages 3-21, attend GSD as they prepare to become independent, productive adults. Our students travel from all over the state on Sunday evenings to live here during the week to attend school. Many of the students travel more than 5 hours by bus twice a week so they can spend time with their families on the weekends. GSD is home to the 2007-2008 National 8-Man Deaf Football Champions AND the 20072008 Mason Dixon Girls Basketball Champions. We take extreme pride in the athletic accomplishments of our students. GSD is also home to a unique choir called "DeSign." DeSign is composed of a group of talented students that use American Sign Language to bring music to life using their hands. This choir provides an insight to how beautiful music can be even when you are not able to "hear" the words. DeSign had the privilege of performing in front of over 10,000 people at the World Congress in May! GSD strives to provide the same extracurricular activities for its students that a regular public school provides, however raising funds for programs such as DeSign and athletics has many challenges. We do not have the traditional booster clubs and fundraisers like bake sales, car washes, and door to door candy sales that regular public schools have; this is why GSD needs your support. We participate in a wide variety of easy fundraising programs that are designed to take minimal time and effort on your part. All of the funds generated through fundraising helps to cover activities that State Funds do not cover. If you would like to be added to the supporters list for GSD please send your contact information to: Angela Pluto @ apluto@doe.k12.ga.us. Supporters of GSD can expect updates on fundraising news, collection goals, and contests. In addition, if you have any questions about any of our fundraising programs or have any ideas or suggestions I would love to hear from you! Please send me an email or contact me by phone at (706)777-2294. Thank you in advance for your support. Please send your collections of boxtops, labels, and caps to: Angela Pluto Fundraising Coordinator The Georgia School for the Deaf 232 Perry Farm Rd, SW Cave Spring, GA 30124 For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Governor's Customer Service Awards In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Nominations are now being accepted for Team Georgia's Second Annual Governor's Customer Service Awards! Log on to http://team.georgia.gov for award details, or go directly to the online nomination form: https://teamgeorgia.wufoo.com/forms/nominate. Any employee may submit nominations! Award categories include: q Customer Service Excellence - 4 Individual Awards q Customer Service Excellence - 4 Team Awards q Customer Service Employee of the Year q Customer Service Team of the Year q Outstanding Process Improvement q Most Improved Customer Service Organization q Champion of the Year q Customer Service Leadership q Contact Center Excellence q Customer Service Agency/Institution of the Year Nominations are due August 29. This is a terrific opportunity to honor employees and teams who represent the very best of "Team Georgia. Service in Action." Questions? Contact the Governor's Office of Customer Service at recognition@ocs.ga. gov or 404-463-8793. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Did you know that direct deposit has been around for over 40 years? Over 500,000 companies offer direct deposit to their employees. Ninety-seven percent of people who use direct deposit are satisfied with it. Just think: q No more losing time during your lunch hour or after work q No more waiting in bank lines q No possibility of losing your paper check or having it stolen q No special trips or making arrangements for check deposit when you are not at work on payday or are working offsite q Your paycheck is in your account and available on payday Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Contact your agency's personnel/payroll representative and "make the switch". Information from NACHA - The electronic Payments Association Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Redesign of the State's Job Class Update As of July 1, 2008, the new job titles became effective. These job titles were developed by agency HR representatives, managers, and job incumbents through over 40 focus group sessions statewide. By collapsing similar jobs we have reduced the number of jobs titles from 3500 to approximately 750. Even though the new job titles will be more generic, agencies will still have the ability to maintain "working or business" titles that reflect work done at an agency/department position level. What Will Not Change In this issue: q No pay grade change q No job code change q No change in promotional opportunities Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available For more information contact your agency HR office. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia grown tomatoes are still safe says Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin. "Georgia grown tomatoes remain on the safe list of tomatoes compiled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," said Commissioner Irvin. "News of seven people in Georgia who got sick from eating contaminated tomatoes should not confuse anyone about the safety of the tomatoes grown here. No tomatoes grown in Georgia have been linked to the outbreak of salmonella-related illnesses," said Irvin. Although some food retailers have pulled all tomatoes from their shelves and menus, those purchasing Georgia grown tomatoes do not need to worry. Georgia grown tomatoes are not on the FDA's list of possible sources of salmonella contamination. Consumers should check with their local grocers and restaurants as to where the tomatoes for sale were grown. Produce can also be purchased directly from farmers and farmer's markets. "I encourage everyone to buy their tomatoes from Georgia growers," said Commissioner Irvin. "Buying locally grown produce is the best way to ensure quality as well as safety." Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia The Georgia Leadership Institute (GLI) in partnership with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government is focused on building the State's bench strength of future leaders at all career phases, as well as expanding the breadth of our current leaders' competencies and skills. Principle-Centered, Customer-Focused, and Results-Driven leadership forms the foundation of the Georgia Leadership Institute. The goal of GLI is to develop current and future generations of Georgia State Government leaders, who are positioned to meet the global challenges of today and tomorrow. In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available The Executive Leadership Program is an interactive and challenging learning environment designed for agency heads and their direct reports. Participants focus on personal leadership, creating high performing organizations, ethics and public values. At the June sessions of the Executive Leadership Program, Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Brad Douglas highlighted a book by bestselling author and management consultant Patrick Lencioni. Lencioni is the President of The Table Group, a management consulting firm specializing in executive team development and organizational health. His book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, is a bestselling business fable describing the many pitfalls that teams experience as they seek to "row together." It explores the fundamental causes of organizational politics and team failure. "This gripping fable centers on Kathryn Petersen, an old-school CEO who comes out of retirement to accept the monumental task of transforming a dysfunctional group of high profile, egocentric executives into a cohesive and effective team. With an amazing gift for building teams, Kathryn forces her colleagues to confront the behavioral pitfalls that destroy most teams and adopt the five characteristics of a truly cohesive one." #1: Absence of Trust The fear of being vulnerable with team members prevents the building of trust within the team. #2: Fear of Conflict The desire to preserve artificial harmony stifles the occurrence of productive, ideological conflict. #3: Lack of Commitment The lack of clarity or buy-in prevents team members from making decisions they will stick to. #4: Avoidance of Accountability The need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team members from holding one another accountable for their behaviors and performance. #5: Inattention to Results The pursuit of individual goals and personal status erodes the focus on collective success. Many more opportunities for training and development with GLI are available to top executives, middle managers, and emerging leaders alike. For more information, visit http://www.spa.ga.gov/gli/ Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Recent spikes in gas prices have driven many Georgia commuters off the roads and onto the bus. The American Public Transportation Association reports first quarter 2008 mass transit ridership rose by a national average of 3.3 percent while vehicle miles traveled on U.S. roads declined by 2.3 percent. Traditionally vehicle-dominated cities such as Atlanta have seen public transportation ridership jump by 15 percent or more. According to a spokesman for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), one quarter of riders on its Xpress buses only started riding within the last six months. With nearly 700,000 more riders in fiscal year 2008, standing room only conditions on many Xpress buses are causing a public outcry for more routes and departure times. Unfortunately, lawmakers went home in April without providing necessary funding for additional Xpress buses. In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available A similar situation sent commuters scrambling for the buses in 2005 when the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina sent gas prices soaring to the previously uncharted territory of $3 per gallon. With forecasters predicting little relief in current pump prices for the foreseeable future, Governor Sonny Perdue recently unveiled plans to address Georgia's transportation needs by creating the new statewide transportation partnership called "Investing in Tomorrow's Transportation Today" or IT3. IT3 is designed to bring the Department of Transportation, GRTA, the General Assembly, local partners and the executive branch together to formulate strategies that will improve transportation infrastructure throughout the state. In a press conference, Governor Perdue announced that the state will fund 28 new GRTA buses using a combination of state and federal dollars. "I think with standing room only on buses and gas at four dollars a gallon, we need more transportation options, and that's what I am committed to do by funding additional GRTA buses." Several state agencies offer payroll-deducted discounts for public transportation. Contact your HR office for more information. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Year-Round Open Enrollment This summer, the State of Georgia Flexible Benefits Program will roll out the YearRound Enrollment for new employees. These employees will make their benefit selections electronically by accessing the Team Georgia Connection (TGC) web site. The implementation of the Year-Round Enrollment will occur in two phases. During Phase One, the following agencies will begin using the TGC web site for employees hired on or after July 15, 2008: q PeopleSoft agencies, q Fayette, DeKalb, & Walton County Boards of Education, q Department of Family and Children Services, q Community Service Boards, and q Public Health Departments. In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available The remaining agencies will be in Phase Two, beginning with new employees hired on or after August 15, 2008. The TGC Web site will be the primary location for new hire and annual online open enrollment, customer service, benefit provider links, as well as other benefit communications for the Flexible Benefits Program. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times trim the fat. It's a rainy day in Georgia. With revenue collections coming in at an ever-slowing pace, the potential need to tap into the state's $1.5 billion "rainy day fund" is becoming increasingly apparent. Recently released year-to-date revenue figures show a tenth of a percent decline in total collections from FY07 to FY08 compared with a 7.6 percent increase between FY06 and FY07. While the emergency fund--amassed during brighter economic times--will more than cover the expected half billion dollar shortfall if revenues continue to flat-line, the governor is also asking individual agencies to pitch in and In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Department heads have been asked to submit plans to cut spending in non-vital areas by three to four percent over the next two fiscal years beginning July 1, 2008--the start of FY09. Following a practice used during the recession earlier this decade, agencies are required to build their budgets from the ground up, rather than using the previous year as a baseline for increases. This means conscientious project and priority management is key for all state agencies and their employees. "The goal is for agencies to suggest cuts that would have the least direct impact on Georgians," said a spokesman for Perdue. The governor has also urged agencies to limit employee travel and restrict hiring to only essential positions. At present, this will not affect the January 2009 state employee pay increases that were approved in the FY09 budget. "Of course, final decisions on spending and future pay raises will be included in my budget recommendations for Amended FY09 and FY10 that I will present to the General Assembly in January," said Governor Perdue, indicating that by January we should be able to predict whether the economy would continue to soften or begin a rebound. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) twenty states have reported lower than expected revenue figures compared to eight states in FY07. Georgia is one of fifteen states with a total year-end balance (a combination of ending balances and rainy day funds) of more than 10% of total expenditures, indicating a healthy cushion to soften a fiscal blow should the negative trends continue. Governor Perdue is no stranger to economic rainy days. When he took office in 2003 the state was experiencing the pinch of a national recession, declining revenues, and a $620 million dollar budget shortfall. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available State Purchasing Division Wins Acclaim While Continuing Transformation For an unprecedented 11th consecutive year, the DOAS State Purchasing Division has been awarded the Achievement of Excellence in Purchasing (AEP) award. Administered by the National Purchasing Institute, the AEP Award recognizes excellence in public sector Purchasing departments. The National Purchasing Institute is affiliated with the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and serves as the Official Public Sector Purchasing Association for federal, state and local governments. The State of Georgia is the only state in the country to have won this prestigious award for 11 years running. What is amazing about winning this award for so many years is the criteria used to evaluate submissions for the award continue to increase and become more difficult each year. For example, to gain points for the number of staff having been formally certified as Purchasing professionals, the percentage of staff needing certification has increased each year. Even more amazing is the State Purchasing Division has been undergoing a comprehensive transformation over the last 3 years, and yet the group continues to gain national acclaim. New staff, new processes, procedures and new purchasing tools have all contributed to the successful run of awards, and we expect to continue the positive results as the transformation of the state's Purchasing function moves forward. For the first time since the Procurement Transformation began, the State Purchasing Division has nearly finalized hiring staff for all its positions and new functions. Currently at about 90% capacity, some 70 staff members now compose the department, and hopefully our agency and university customers have noticed a difference in our work quality and service delivery. One area of focus for the State Purchasing Division in FY 2009 is to lower cycle times. The time it takes to process Requests for Quotes (RFQ's) and Requests for Proposals (RFP's) is of paramount importance to our customers. Already during the past year, the time it has taken to conduct a procurement solicitation utilizing RFP's has decreased by 6.7%, a reduction of nearly 2 weeks. For RFQ's, the cycle reduction is even more dramatic. In 2008, RFQ's now are processed 30% quicker than the previous year, shaving an entire month off the process. While much progress has been made, we aren't yet satisfied with the results, and thus we are reviewing the current process for both RFP's and RFQ's to further streamline the workflow and save even more time when conducting procurements. To assist in this effort, the State Purchasing Division (SPD) will soon be utilizing a scorecard to evaluate agency RFP's and RFQ's as they are received by SPD to determine areas for improvement. This will also to serve to identify any areas where additional training of agency or university Purchasing staff is warranted in order to further improve the quality of RFP/RFQ documents received by State Purchasing. Many of you who operate the Purchasing function of your respective agency have assisted SPD in lowering the cycle time for RFQ's by utilizing eQuote. eQuote is SPD's automated method to issue RFQ's in a most efficient manner. Since its statewide re-launch this past March, eQuote has processed over 750 RFQ's with the average award amounting to just under $20,000. Based on the difference between the highest and lowest quote for each of these solicitations, more than $10.5M in cost avoidance has been recorded by the various state agencies and universities utilizing the eQuote system. Progress on the PeopleSoft eProcurement Implementation also continues to proceed as planned. In the initial phase of implementation, the Department of Corrections and DHR, along with DOAS, will be the first agencies to pilot the new eProcurement system dubbed Team Georgia Marketplace. Deploying in early 2009, Team Georgia Marketplace will make it easier for buyers statewide to access both statewide and agency contracts, offering improved efficiency and effectiveness in the state Procurement process. As you can see, the State Purchasing Division continues to make tremendous strides to improve the state's Purchasing function. Here's hoping the changes are rewarded with a 12th consecutive Excellence in Purchasing Award this time next year. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It View your pay stub in one-page PDF format starting August 1. Direct Deposit may be one of the greatest innovations since, well, sliced bread. But what about those employees who use direct deposit but want to keep a hard copy of each pay stub without having to print out a bunch of unnecessary pages? Beginning August 1, 2008, employees can now log on to ESS/Teamworks and retrieve their pay stubs in a one-page PDF printable format. Helping Others In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available q Log on to ESS/Teamworks via the Team GeorgiaConnection q Under "Payroll and Compensation," click "View Paycheck in PDF" q Select which paycheck you would like to view q Now you may either save or print your pay stub for your records Note: To view PDF documents you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. To get a free copy of Adobe Reader, visit www.adobe.com Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others State Health Benefits Plan BlueCross/Blue Shield & Kaiser dropped from SHBP Enrollment Options Effective January 1, 2009, the BlueCross BlueShield/Lumenos options will no longer be offered to employees. However, according to a DCH claims analysis, over 97% of the providers utilized by BlueCross BlueShield members also participate in either the CIGNA or United Healthcare networks. Kaiser Permanente, also a current health care provider provides a network primarily in metro areas of the state. However, due to the fact that most Kaiser physicians are employed by Kaiser Permanente and will not be in the CIGNA or United Healthcare networks, SHBP is extending the Kaiser contract for an additional year through 2009. Only members currently enrolled in Kaiser in 2008 will be able to select Kaiser during the Open Enrollment for the 2009 plan year. This will allow members an additional year to make the transition from Kaiser physicians to new physicians. In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available This year's Open Enrollment dates are October 10 through November 10, 2008. Beginning January 1, 2009, employees in most parts of the state will have the choice between both CIGNA and United Healthcare who will each offer the following options: Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), and Medicare Advantage Private Fee for Service. It is very important that employees carefully review the 2009 Active Decision Guide and plan to attend a webinar or meeting prior to making their election at www. oe2009ga.gov. An employee whose health option is terminating and fails to go online to select a new health option will automatically be enrolled in the United Healthcare HRA option effective January 1, 2009 (with surcharges) . Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Chocolate I. Q. What's your Chocolate I. Q.? 1. When was the first book on chocolate published? q a. 1550 q b. 1609 q c. 1705 Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available 2. The Baby Ruth candy bar was named for: q a. President Grover Cleveland's youngest daughter q b. Rebecca Ruth q c. Babe Ruth 3. How many chocolate chips does the Nestle company produce per day? q a. 100 million q b. 250 million q c. 500 million 4. How many calories are in a Hershey's Kiss? q a. 25 calories q b. 50 calories q c. 13 calories 5. The number one selling candy bar in the United States is: q a. Baby Ruth q b. Almond Joy q c. S nickers 6. Chrysanthemums, Clark Bar, Sweet Peas, Almond Joy, Eatmores, Whatchamacallit, Ostrich Egg, and Charleston Chew. How many of these are actually candy bar names? q a. all q b. none q c. three 7. Chocolate causes acne and tooth decay. q false q true 8. The world's largest producer of raw cocoa beans for commercial use is: q a.Columbia q b. Ghana 9. Linneaus called cocoa "theobroma" which is Greek for: q a. Brown substance that tastes good q b. Food of the Gods q c. Wonderful food 10. The U.S. produces more chocolate than any other country. Which country's population consumes the most chocolate? q a. Switzerland q b. Austria q c. France Information from the National Agricultural Library SCORES 10-12 Correct Chocolate Genius 8-10 Correct Chocolate Lover 6-10 Correct Good Try q Correct - Need to study Answers: 1b, 2a, 3b, 4a, 5c, 6a, 7a, 8b, 9b, 10a Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement New law to standardize HR policies throughout state As a top performer in the "people" category in the Pew Center's 2008 Grading the States (http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/gpp_report_card.aspx), Georgia continues to seek the best practices from the private sector to achieve its mission, "Best Managed State in the Nation". In an organization as large as Georgia state government, standardization of personnel policies and procedures is essential to maintain uniform practices for a varied workforce. For years the state has lacked baseline consistency in human resource policies among its nearly 100 agencies. To address this problem, an inter-agency task force consisting of agency leaders and HR professionals was formed. Realizing that no authority existed to establish statewide HR policies, the task force recommended, with significant input from all state agencies, that the law be changed to allow the State Personnel Board to establish such policies--a move that had been previously recommended by the Commission for a New Georgia. In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available During the 2008 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly passed and Governor Perdue subsequently signed Senate Bill 230 (Act 557), enabling the State Personnel Administration and the State Personnel Board to adopt enterprise-wide human resource rules, policies and best practices. This legislation, requested and written by the agencies, standardizes the often-amended language of the code section written in 1943. Senate Bill 230 makes no changes to current rules or policies, which only can be done by the State Personnel Board after public comment and approval from the Governor. However, policies regarding antidiscrimination, employer-employee relations, performance management among others will now be managed at the enterprise level. This will provide agencies with a point of reference from which to develop agency specific policies and processes, and will further allow state employees to move from one agency to another with no need to "re-learn" basic HR policies. Policies will be written in an easily understood manner for employees and supervisors to ensure consistent application throughout state government. In addition, a series of online informational videos will be made available to provide employees, supervisors, and human resource professionals easy access to review policies. Policy Team Co-Team Leaders Paul Burkhalter, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Natural Resources Gary Nagel, Deputy Director of Human Resources, Department of Human Resources Team Members Angela Woodliff, Deputy HR Director, Department of Transportation Mike Long, Department of Corrections Sandra Bruce, Hr Director, Department of Defense Denise Crowe, Hr Director, Department of Community Affairs Rebecca Burton, Department of Human Resources Penny Callaway, Gwinnett/Rockdale/Newton Community Service Board Kathleen Gosden, Office of the Attorney General Laura Hyman, Office of the Attorney General Sam Clonts, State Personnel Administration Mustafa Aziz, State Personnel Administration Executive Sponsor Frank Heiny, Assistant Commissioner, State Personnel Administration Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees New Pension Plan for State Employees By Shelia Jenkins, Senior Director of ERS Policy Services Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available It's new for 2009 and the beginning of an exciting journey for future state of Georgia employees. New employees hired on and after January 1, 2009 will become the first Employees' Retirement System (ERS) members of the Georgia State Employees Pension and Savings Plan (GSEPS), a retirement plan providing a traditional defined benefit plan and defined contribution plan combination. More... Act No. 757 (SB 328), Georgia Laws 2008, creates the "Georgia State Employees' Pension and Savings Plan" (GSEPS), which provides a defined benefit plan (DBP) and 401(k) plan for new hires on and after January 1, 2009 and an opt-in to those employees in the membership of ERS on December 31, 2008. The ERS Board of Trustees will have the responsibility of administering the pension and savings plans. Compare the DBP plans of ERS: For more information related to the GSEPS, please visit our web site at www.ersga.org. ERS offers statewide retirement and financial planning seminars, which encompass both Peach State Reserves (PSR) and the ERS pension plans. These seminars can help state employees better understand how to create a solid foundation for their financial future. Preparing for retirement is an extremely important life goal, one that many people find confusing and intimidating. We are working to improve this by making helpful information more available, including personal account access, education and training, assistance and advice. We look forward to finding more ways of improving our service to employees and retirees of the state of Georgia, while continuing to perform our fiduciary responsibilities in managing your retirement plans now and in the future. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 By: Cathy Mendelsohn, Director of Consumer Education for the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs On May 13, 2008 Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law a credit freeze bill that will provide Georgia consumers with the ability to place a freeze on their credit file for only $3, or a total of $9 for each of the three major credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The freeze would be free for senior citizens 65 and older and for victims of identity theft. Each temporary lift commonly called a "thaw" to allow access to the consumer's credit file would also cost $3, and would be available electronically within 15 minutes of request, keeping on-the-spot credit an option for shoppers. The legislation will become effective August 1, 2008. With the signing of this bill, Georgians have gained a new weapon in the fight against identity theft. When a freeze is in place, credit reporting agencies may not release the consumer's credit file unless the consumer first removes the freeze by providing his password. Most lenders and creditors rely on access to a consumer's credit file to determine his credit worthiness. By denying such access, a credit freeze makes it very difficult for an identity thief to open an account in a victim's name. Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available It should be noted that the law does give some ompanies access to reports despite a freeze such as insurance companies, existing creditors and law enforcement agencies. To place a credit freeze on your file, consumers must contact the credit reporting agencies at the addresses below: Experian Security Freeze P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 www.experian.com/freeze Equifax Security Freeze P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348 TransUnion Security Freeze P.O. Box 6790 Fullerton, CA 92834-6790 The request must include identifying information: q Full name (and former name if applicable) q Current Address and former address if it changed in the last 5 years q Social Security number q Date of birth q Photocopy of a driver's license, state ID card or other government- issued identification q Proof of current residence, such as a copy of a phone or utility bill q If you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report; investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft; q If you are not a victim of identity theft, include payment by check, money order or credit card (Visa, Master Card, American Express, or Discover cards only.) Do not send cash in the mail. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative You know you live in a polluted city when the top story on the morning news is the air quality index. According to the American Lung Association, Atlanta ranks 13th in the U.S. of cities with the worst air quality, second only to Birmingham, Alabama in the Southeast. With gas at a record $4 per gallon and rising, the Clean Air Campaign has encountered a strategic opportunity to foster long-term change in the solodriver commuter culture that has defined Atlanta in the past. Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available The One Ton Challenge is a regional effort to encourage everyone to use a commute alternative. By not driving alone just one day per week, each metro Atlanta commuter can avoid emitting one ton of pollutants into the air over a course of one year. Small changes can make a "ton" of difference. You do the math: q 1 mile driven = 1 pound of air pollution q 40 miles driven (the average metro commuter's daily round trip) = 40 pounds of pollution q 40 pounds of pollution x 52 days (one day a week for a year) = 2,080 pounds (or 1 ton) of pollution you can keep out of our air by clean commuting. q Take the One Ton Challenge and commit to carpooling, riding transit, teleworking or any other commute alternative once a week for the next year. Join the hundreds of thousands of metro Atlantans making a difference to improve our air quality and traffic congestion. Take the Challenge Register now for the One Ton Challenge! U.S. Department of Energy: Technical Guidelines Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases (1605(b)) Program. (March 2006). U.S. Environmental protection Agency: Light-Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2007. (September 2007). Metro Atlanta's 2007 State of the Commute. Center for Transportation and the Environment on behalf of the Georgia Department of Transportation. Courtesy of www.cleanaircampaign.com Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Nuts About Health Search: Georgia Statement In a campaign designed to assist State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) members in achieving their individual health, fitness and nutritional goals, the Department of Community Health has unveiled the 2008 "Georgia's Nuts About Health" wellness initiative. SHBP members who complete a health assessment and one online coaching module will be entered in a drawing to win 1 of 600 Nike+ Runner gift packs a $328 value including an 8GB iPod nano (with video), a $100 Gift Card for Nike+ enabled shoes, and a Nike+ iPod Sport Kit. In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available In order to participate in the 2008 end-of-year drawing, you must follow and complete both steps outlined on your respective health care vendor's website. All employees, retirees and dependent spouses covered under the SHBP are eligible to participate. However, dependent children are not eligible to participate. The deadline for completing the necessary steps for enrollment is November 1, 2008. Winners will be announced December 1, 2008. For more information visit: www.nutsabouthealth.ga.gov Other useful links: www.dch.ga.gov Georgia Department of Community Health www.myuhc.com United Healthcare www.kp.org Kaiser Permanente www.bcbsga.com Blue Choice HMO www.lumenos.com Blue Cross Blue Shield Lumenos HRA Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs The pain at the pump is sending shockwaves through the economy and the wallets of average Georgians. Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available Over three quarters of Georgia's workforce drives alone for an average of thirty minutes to work each day. Whether they are coming from Marietta, McDonough, Covington or Douglasville, getting to work in Atlanta can be a long, steering-wheel gripping, and now very costly task. With gas at $4 per gallon and no relief in sight, the Work Away program, introduced by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2003, has helped many state agencies ease the burden of commuting for their employees. "Gas prices and long commutes are a challenge for many employees," said Governor Perdue in a recent speech to Cumberland Community Improvement District's Commuter Club. "Many employers, including state government, have developed a range of options for workers that help them save on fuel costs and enjoy stress-free commutes. Continuing to offer these programs and expand them where possible is a great way to reduce congestion and help employees deal with the burden of high gas prices." These announcements are just the latest of the Governor's efforts to provide Georgians with commute alternatives and combat high gas prices. Earlier this month, Governor Perdue suspended the scheduled gas tax increase that would have gone into effect on July 1. Georgia's Work Away initiative has already begun gaining in popularity as employees sink more and more dollars into their gas tanks and therefore seek to lengthen workdays, shorten work weeks, and reduce weekly miles driven. Both telework and scheduling options (compressed work weeks) have been shown to result in better job performance, improved job satisfaction and employee morale, and a reduction in absenteeism and sick leave usage. In addition to cost savings for the employee, cutting back up to 20 percent of individual weekly commutes will take cars off the road and could potentially alleviate metro Atlanta's snarled interstates. Contact your HR office for more information on your agency's policies regarding Work Away. Other commuter resources: http://www.spa.ga.gov/employees/telework.asp https://www.myridesmart.com/html/index.htm http://www.cleanaircampaign.com/ http://www.grta.org http://www.itsmarta.com Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Serve in Good Health Serve in Good Health Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness In 2007, Ryan Momberger, a new employee for the State Accounting Office, began a grassroots effort to have a workout gym and minute clinic style check-up facility available to state employees in the James H. Sloppy Floyd "Twin Tower" Building on Capitol Hill. Momberger may have tapped into something since more than 165 state employees at the Twin Towers have registered to support the idea. Momberger feels "Serve in Good Health" (SIGH) could be beneficial to both the state of Georgia and state employees as a preventive measure to help employees stay active while promoting healthier lifestyles and health education. Lets Hear It Helping Others In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available The idea of promoting exercise and health while at work is not a new one in state government. In 2005, Governor Sonny Perdue kicked off the Live Healthy Georgia Initiative where he encouraged state employees to get involved by sponsoring a kick off at the State Capitol. Governor Perdue's administration has promoted a healthy Georgia as one of its priorities in becoming the best managed state in the nation. State entities such as the Department of Community Health's Commission on Men's Health, Department of Women's Health and the Department of Human Resources Division of Public Health all have mission statements and goals that speak to preventative health measures and partnering with others who have similar objectives. Just this year, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine held a mile walk around the Twin Towers to encourage employees to walk regularly. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, employer-based health insurance premiums have risen four times faster than wages over the last seven years and medical spending is expected to account for 20 percent of the entire national gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015. These skyrocketing costs can largely be attributed to preventive diseases caused by unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking, bad diets, obesity, and inactivity. More than ever, employees are realizing that unhealthy living equals fewer dollars on payday. Workplace wellness programs have taken root in the private sector as an attractive benefit option in addition to compensation. In fact, SIGH founder Ryan Momberger, who has worked for several private organizations, was surprised to learn that no such health facility existed in the Twin Towers. Many companies have seen these programs virtually pay for themselves as they lead to fewer sick days taken and fewer health insurance and worker's comp claims made. In addition to reducing health-related costs, workplace wellness programs have been shown to reduce absenteeism and increase morale. Also, as the state of Georgia faces a wave of baby boomer retirements, a workplace wellness program can help attract effective and productive young employees to take their place. For more information on Serve In Good Health (SIGH) or to register, visit http:// ryanpm.wiki.zoho.com/SIGH.html Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness States, cities reducing workforces amid budget crunch With tax revenues coming in at an ever-slowing pace, state and local governments across the country have begun downsizing in an attempt to meet statutory budget requirements. According to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, nearly 45,000 public sector layoffs have been announced for Fiscal Year 2009 and that number is expected to rise if the economy continues to soften. In a drastic attempt to bring his state's budget in line with lower-than-expected revenues, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen announced thousands of state employee layoffs in May. After a fierce battle with state legislators in his own party, Bredesen compromised by instead agreeing to "buy out" certain employees into early retirement. Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available The Commonwealth of Virginia has announced similar employment reductions to cope with an over half billion dollar budget shortfall. In addition to hiring freezes and reductions in discretionary spending, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine plans to reduce his state's 95,000 employee workforce to only "mission critical" positions. Meanwhile, California state employees are facing the peculiar possibility of temporarily forgoing their salaries for a meager $6.55 per hour--the federal minimum wage. With the legislature in a deadlock over the state's $15.2 billion budget deficit and no rainy day fund, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering signing an executive order slashing employee pay, eliminating overtime, and ending contracts to save the state much-needed cash. Employees would receive their full salaries retroactively after a budget compromise is reached, according to the executive order. Most southern states, however, have yet to resort to such drastic measures. Like the governors of Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has begun seeking more palatable alternatives, instructing department heads to submit plans to cut spending in non-vital areas by three to four percent over the next two fiscal years (FY09 and FY10). "The goal is for agencies to suggest cuts that would have the least direct impact on Georgians," said a spokesman for Perdue. The governor has urged agencies to limit employee travel and restrict hiring to only essential positions--a move that can potentially save the state millions of dollars. Perdue has also left open the option of tapping into the state's "rainy day fund"--which, at $1.5 billion, is one of the most well-funded in the nation--instead of instituting statewide employee layoffs. Many states, however, turn more quickly to layoffs and furloughs, or reductions in force (RIFs), because governors are usually reluctant to deplete emergency fund balances for fear that the economic situation may continue to worsen through fiscal 2009. According to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI), Georgia's rainy day fund will not be enough to carry the state through a protracted economic downturn, and even a sharp uptick in revenue receipts, however unlikely that may be, would still not be enough to close the shortfall gap. In a recent report, GBPI suggested that a special session of the General Assembly will likely be necessary in the coming months to examine additional cost-saving measures. Such measures suggested by GBPI include a $1 per pack hike on cigarettes, a reduction or elimination of special interest tax breaks passed during the last two legislative sessions, and a reduction or elimination of the Board of Regents and state employee FY 2009 2.5% salary increases. GBPI predicts a staggering budget deficit of between $1 billion if the economy begins to slowly recover and $2 billion dollars if the decline continues. Eliminating state employee raises would save the state only $87 million dollars. In a recent statement, Governor Perdue indicated that it is still too early to determine what cuts will be necessary, and any decision regarding state employee pay increases will be made when he presents the Amended FY09 and FY10 budget to the General Assembly in January. "By then, we will know whether this softening economy is continuing or if we will start to see revenues rebound," said Perdue. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), the current economic decline has not reached the lows seen during the recession in the early part of the decade. Note: April's sharp rise in collections can be attributed to processing improvements made by the Georgia Department of Revenue. Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions Government Spotlight Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Search: Georgia Statement Money Matters Vocabulary Retirees New leave conversion process eliminates paper New leave conversion process eliminates paper Technology Procurement Workforce Tips Wellness Lets Hear It Helping Others Back To: Home In this issue: Governor's Customer Service Awards Make the Switch to Direct Deposit Redesign of the State's Job Class Georgia country-region grown tomatoes still safe Georgia Leadership Institute: Leading the Way for a New Georgia Georgia commuters exiting the freeways Year-Round Open Enrollment Agencies instructed to "tighten belts" in uncertain times View your pay stub in onepage PDF format starting August 1. State Health Benefits Plan Chocolate I. Q. New law to standardize HR policies throughout state New Pension Plan for State Employees Georgia's credit freeze law takes effect August 1, 2008 Clean Air Campaign seeks to ease traffic, improve air quality with new initiative Georgia's Nuts About Health Georgia's Work Away can help state employees manage rising costs Serve in Good Health Surplus Available The State Personnel Administration has automated the personal leave conversion process, thus eliminating the need for a paper format. In December, all employees who desire to convert sick leave into personal leave will log on to employee self service (ESS/Teamworks). It's quick, easy, and cost-effective. Steps: Log into employee self service (ESS/Teamworks) Click "Personal Leave Election" from the left side of the toolbar Enter the desired number of hours in the election hours box Click "Save" Note: The amount of desired hours cannot exceed the total number of eligible hours. The entered hours can be modified until December 31st of the current year. All converted hours to personal leave must be used by the end of the following year. Contact your agency's HR Office for more details Print this page For questions or comments concerning Georgia Statement online, please contact: carletta.henderson-youngs@spa.ga.gov Article submissions for the next issue should be sent to: Georgia Statement Submissions