Tag Archive for 'employment'

Audit: Computer Controls at Oregon Employment Need Attention

Published on August 15, 2012 in Audits and Press Releases. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Better collection of unemployment overpayments needed

The Secretary of State Audits Division released a report today that found Oregon Employment Department computer systems reasonably ensured accurate and timely payment of unemployment benefit, but the department could improve handling of unusual or complicated claims.

For example, auditors found about $23 million of identified overpayments, about one percent of total payments, were not processed for more than six months, delaying collection efforts. In addition, auditors identified $6 million of overpayments that likely would never be assigned for collection. The department also handled some overpayments by paying claims again without considering the amount that was already overpaid, increasing overpayment totals for these claims from about $4.1 million to $9.6 million.

“During this great recession, unemployment benefits have been a lifeline to so many Oregonians. Still, it’s important for the Employment Department to minimize overpayments and to set up sound procedures for collecting that money to protect taxpayers and businesses,” Secretary of State Kate Brown said.

Auditors also noted improvements the department could make to better manage changes to computer code, define how the system would be recovered in the event of a disaster, and improve security over the system and its data.

The report, including the agency response, can be found at www.sos.state.or.us/audits.

Secretary of State Kate Brown releases audit recommendations for jobs and business expansion at Vigor Industrial in Portland

Published on June 12, 2012 in Audits and Secretary Brown. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

PRESS ADVISORY
June 11, 2012

Media Contact:
Andrea Cantu-Schomus, 503-986-2368

(Salem, OR) – On Wednesday, June 13, Secretary of State Kate Brown will release an audit of Oregon’s Workforce Development. Auditors found Oregon could be doing a better job of matching middle-skilled training programs at Oregon’s Community Colleges and the many other workforce development programs with current and projected job demand.

“We need a more strategic, coordinated, statewide plan that identifies high demand jobs or industries with a projected under-supply and offer training to get these Oregonians to work,” said Secretary Brown. “We need more partnerships like Vigor Industrial and Portland Community College where men and women in search of a career can get the training they need to get hired right out of school.”

Secretary Brown will tour Vigor Industrial’s Swan Island Training Facility with PCC President, Dr. Preston Pulliams and representatives from Vigor Industrial. On the grounds of the Portland shipyard, this joint venture provides welding training opportunities that support workforce development for Vigor Industrial and other area companies.

Vigor Industrial/PCC Swan Island Training Facility
10:00 AM
5555 N. Channel Ave
Portland, Oregon 97217

The entrance to the training center is off Lagoon Avenue.

Secretary of State’s public-private partnership creates jobs in eastern Oregon

Published on May 3, 2012 in Archives, Press Releases, Road Trips, Secretary Brown and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Press Release
May 3, 2012

SALEM – Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown will celebrate the public-private partnership with Chaves Consulting, Inc. at a ribbon cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. on May 4, 2012 in Baker City, Oregon. This unique partnership allows the Secretary of State’s office to implement the first statewide electronic records management solution, the first of its kind in the country. Oregon’s Records Management Solution (ORMS) is estimated to create more than 25 jobs in eastern Oregon.

“In rural eastern Oregon 25 jobs is significant; it is equivalent to 2,500 jobs in the Portland metro area,” said Secretary Brown. “I am so proud of this partnership. The work allows us to create jobs, preserve Oregon’s history and provide better services to Oregonians at a lower cost.”

ORMS allows for the simplification of records management across the entire state and local government using Hewlett Packard’s software called TRIM. Additionally, this single records management system will enable Oregon to gain economies of scale, cost savings, as well as greater efficiencies due to the consolidation of workloads and reduction of duplicative storage. The system copies, stores, archives and retrieves records creating less work for staff. It also reduces the chances of losing records and is sustainable, decreasing the need for paper and storage.

Cities such as Beaverton, West Linn and Milwaukie; state agencies – Public Utilities Commission and pilot field offices from the Department of Human Services Children, Adults and Families Division; Tillamook County and Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District have all joined as pilot agencies. Additional state and local government agencies are expected to join this year.

The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at the Synergy Data Center in Baker City. This state of the art facility houses stores the data for ORMS and other clients such as the Wyoming and Missouri Secretaries of State.

For more information, please contact

Andrea Cantu-Schomus
Communications Director
Oregon Secretary of State
503-986-2368
503-507-0082

Secretary Brown on 100 Best Companies to Work For

Published on March 2, 2012 in Corporation, Secretary Brown, Social Media and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

100 Best Companies to Work For

Congratulations to Perkins Coie, Slalom Consulting and Rose City Mortgage for winning top honors at

Secretary Brown and Linda Baker

Secretary Brown and Linda Baker

Thursday night’s awards ceremony honoring the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon.

For 19 years Oregon Business has conducted a comprehensive annual ranking of the state’s best employers. This year more than 14,000 employees participated in ranking the companies they work for. The winners were broken down into three categories by size – large, medium and small.

Hearing about all the innovative ways employers are making work fun, safe and challenging was very inspiring. These companies embody the best Oregon has to offer. Want to learn about what these companies are doing right? Visit Oregon Business 2012.

Thanks so much to Oregon Business for inviting me to attend. I also want to thank my Corporation Division Director Peter Threlkel for joining me. Our Corporation Division is the first stop for doing business in Oregon. We work hard every day to make it easier for businesses like Perkins Coie, Slalom Consulting and Rose City Mortgage to  make a home in Oregon.

It was truly a pleasure to meet representatives of these companies in person.

- Kate Brown, Oregon Secretary of State

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Secretary Brown Leads Effort to Create Online One-Stop-Shop for Business

Published on October 7, 2011 in Corporation, Headlines, Press Releases, Secretary Brown and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Secretary of State Kate Brown is leading the effort to develop Oregon’s Central Business Registry which provides an online one-stop-shop for those looking to do business in our great state. This online system will enable entrepreneurs to create a business and comply with all state and federal regulations. The goal of this online registry is to save time and money as well as create jobs in Oregon.

Addressing members of the Salem City Club today, Secretary Brown described how the Oregon Central Business Registry will enhance the ease of doing business.

Oregon Secretary of State Announces Public-Private Partnership

Published on June 27, 2011 in Press Releases and Secretary Brown. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Oregon Secretary of State Announces Public-Private Partnership

Aimed at Creating Jobs and Preserving Oregon’s History

SALEM, OR. – Secretary of State Kate Brown and Chaves Consulting, Inc. (CCI) have formed a unique public-private partnership to offer state and local government agencies Oregon’s Electronic Management Solution (ORMS) to save time and money, and create jobs in Eastern Oregon.

ORMS is powered by HP TRIM software, a robust, cost-effective, enterprise records management solution, which can manage the state’s public records whether they are electronic, paper or any other number of formats. ORMS allows the public to more easily access government records using a public interface or web portal.

CCI, headquartered in Baker City, Oregon, will use HP TRIM software to provide an innovative SaaS (Software as a Service) model, which will involve charging a decreasing monthly cost per user with no upfront investment required by users. CCI will supply the hardware, software, and services as part of the SaaS model.  As managing General Partner of the state-of-the-art Synergy Data Center (www.synergydcs.com), CCI will utilize Synergy as the repository for the ORMS data.

“As keeper of Oregon’s history, it is crucial our agency has a reliable system in which to store public records,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “By partnering with Chaves Consulting and using HP TRIM software, we have a win-win for all Oregonians. It allows my office to build a cost-effective way of managing information, increasing transparency, and creating jobs.”

Through this project, all state and local government agencies will have access to a current technology records management solution.  The pilot phase in addition to the Secretary of State’s Office includes: Oregon Department of Energy, Oregon Department of Human Services’ Children, Adult, and Families Division, Public Utility Commission, Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District, and the cities of Beaverton, Milwaukie, and West Linn.

CCI President Richard Chaves said, “The partnership formed between the Secretary of State’s Office, CCI, and the use of HP TRIM software represents a willingness by all parties to work together to develop a solution that will greatly benefit the State of Oregon. It also supports CCI and the Secretary of State’s vision to positively impact economic development in rural Oregon.”

“The State of Oregon is taking an innovative approach with its shared services model, so it can centrally manage state agency records,” said June Manley, worldwide director of product marketing, Information Management, Software, HP. “HP is providing an advanced information management solution that improves transparency, business process efficiency and employee productivity.”

 

For more information, please contact:
Gina Mattioda
Director of Communications
gina.mattioda@state.or.us
503-986-2368

The Digital Government Achievement Awards

Published on September 18, 2009 in Corporation. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

The Secretary of State’s Office is a multi-faceted agency with program divisions that handle some of our State Government’s most vital tasks. However, what often goes unseen is the work that our internal divisions do in support of our program divisions. On September 1st, our Information Systems Division was awarded a Digital Government Achievement Award (DGAA) in the Government-to-business category for its development of the Central Business Registry, which has streamlined the filing process for those wishing to start a business in Oregon. The DGAA is given to an agency or department for an outstanding Web site or project at the application and infrastructure level. It is open to all government agencies the world over, so it’s safe to say that our competition was pretty fierce.

So what’s the big deal with the Central Business Registry (CBR) anyways? Well, for starters, before the development of CBR, in order to start a business in Oregon, a business registrant may have been required to register with as many as six different state agencies.  Each of these agencies has separate requirements and forms that must be completed and processed.  This process required  days or even weeks to complete, and in some cases even required the business registrant to travel to the agency to complete the transaction.

What we have now is a process that’s a bit more like “one stop shopping” for starting a business. Currently, customers can log on to the CBR and complete registration with the Oregon Corporation Division, Employment Department, and the Department of Revenue. The next phase of development will bring the Department of Consumer and Business Services into the mix, further streamlining the process.

Making the process more efficient for customers is just one great benefit the CBR has produced. Another is the tremendous number of hours that are saved when customers use CBR. The Secretary of State saves approximately 400 hours a month, while the Department of Revenue boasts a savings of roughly 135 hours a month in processing time. These savings translate to improved services to the State’s business customers as well as savings to the agencies involved.

Our ISD and Corporations divisions put a great deal of work into this project and we are very happy that their hard work and ingenuity have not gone unnoticed. If you’re looking to start a business in Oregon, go ahead and pay the CBR a visit. After all, it’s award winning.