by Josie Koehne, Coordinator
Since the close of session in June and our Sine Die report on September 14, there is little to report since the Legislature has not been in session, and the committees that were to convene on September 22-25 were canceled due to a case of Covid in the state Legislature, as well as an extension of the Special Redistricting Session, not yet concluded due to disagreements concerning the CD maps. However, the Department of Revenue (DOR) has put out a draft Revenue’s 2021-2027 Strategic Plan, and is seeking public input in a virtual open house as part of its Strategic Plan Update from September 23—October 6. The plan includes a description of its mission, vision and values. The DOR is “committed to bringing in the revenue that Oregon counts on, whether it's through tax programs we administer, supporting our partners’ revenue collection efforts, or collecting on debts owed the state of Oregon. Our mission, vision, and values define our purpose and guide our work. The plan has four priorities for 2021-2017: 1) ensuring dignity and inclusion for all, 2) making it simpler to work with us, 3) training and preparing our workforce for the future, and 4) enhancing data access and use. It describes where the 54 revenue streams come from (31 tax programs, 8 fee programs, and 15 administrative or pass-through programs) that the department administers, and where the revenue goes to provide services to Oregonians.
To do the planning, DOR conducted numerous surveys and workshops and developed metrics to evaluate and measure success over time for each of its 13 goals. These are:
Goal 1: Create and implement a Racial Equity Plan. Measure success according to guidance from the Governor and DAS for state agency racial equity plans.
Goal 2: Create and use Racial Equity Impact Statements. Measure success according to guidance from the Governor and DAS for state agency racial impact statements.
Goal 3: Upgrade to modern call center and phone systems. Measure success based on incoming call data, and customer service satisfaction ratings.
Goal 4: Improve online services. Measure success based on incoming call data, customer surveys, and GenTax analytics.
Goal 5: Improve website features and functionality. Measure success based on incoming call data, customer surveys, and Google Analytics.
Goal 6: Improve the quality of correspondence. Measure success based on customer surveys and customer service satisfaction ratings.
Goal 7: Accept all payments for all programs regardless of a customer’s access point. Measure success based on customer surveys and customer service satisfaction ratings.
Goal 8: Enhance employee training. Measure success based on employee training data.
Goal 9: Ensure new managers have the tools they need to succeed. Measure success based on employee training data.
Goal 10: Facilitate knowledge transfer and cross-training. Measure success based on employee training.
Goal 11: Improve data literacy. Measure success based on surveys of customers' perception of their ability to read, work with, analyze, and communicate with data.
Goal 12: Develop data governance. Measure success based on surveys of customers' perception of whether data is usable, accessible, and protected.
Goal 13: Create and execute a data strategy. Complete and adopt a data strategy and implement a data strategy lifecycle.
The department seems to have gone through a rigorous self-evaluation process. We think the plan is excellent, committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. “The State of Oregon is committed to establishing strong leadership to eradicate racial and other forms of disparities in all aspects of state government. We look to center equity in budgeting, planning, procurement, and policymaking. We work to strengthen public involvement through community engagement, access to information, and decision-making opportunities. We work to improve equitable access to our services, programs, and resources. We work to foster an inclusive workplace culture.”