February 25, 2011

Dear Friends,

This week, DBPR had the honor to host Governor Scott as he visited our Tallahassee office and spoke with several hundred of our staff members. The Governor remarked that he was impressed with DBPR's system of metrics and how closely we measure our successes and our challenges. After speaking with our team, he posed several suggestions that will make us more efficient and will help us serve Florida's businesses and professional faster and better. I'm looking forward to working with our leadership team to implement those suggestions, and we hope to have proposals for new initiatives developed very soon.

The Governor was intrigued by an idea some of our employees had about competing for their jobs. In the past, the Legislature has privatized some state functions. Our employees suggested that if some of their functions were put out to bid, they might be able to develop a team to compete with the private sector. At DBPR, we work to be competitive every single day, so we are not at all afraid of being put to the test in the marketplace. I suspect our employees would win hands down on knowledge and skills, as well as productivity. However, because of the benefits available to state employees, they would have to make up this subsidized advantage by proving themselves more efficient in terms of production and output to match or exceed the salary cost advantage a private sector business might have. This competition would benefit not only our customers, but also Florida taxpayers.

Here at DBPR, we have a direct impact on our state's growth and recovery. I'm proud of everything we've accomplished so far to help businesses and professionals keep their businesses growing, thriving, and creating even more jobs. However, these are tough times for our state, our citizens, and our businesses, and we will stay focused on our main goal - being the most efficient and cost effective licensing agency in the nation as we do our part in getting Florida back to work.

Sincerely,

Charlie Liem
Secretary

Department of Business and
Professional Regulation
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Customer Contact Center:
850.487.1395
www.MyFloridaLicense.com