Treasury, Transportation to Streamline Back-Office Functions in Overhaul
Two federal agencies, the Treasury Department and the Department of Transportation (DOT), announced plans to share services and cut administrative tasks, as the Trump Administration tries to streamline operations.
First, the Treasury is going to consolidate mission-enabling functions like human resources, acquisition, and travel functions, into a unified service delivery model. The services will be housed in a new entity called the Treasury Common Services Center (TCSC), under the Treasury’s Office of Management.
“By centralizing and elevating these critical mission enablers, we want to learn from the best practices and practitioners across the agency to develop a common ‘Treasury Way’ of providing support services,” said Treasury Assistant Secretary for Management John York in an email to employees. “As we co-develop this Treasury Way together, we will always seek to improve quality and timeliness while building in flexibility to suit the variety and complexity of our work and workforce.”
The TCSC rollout will be overseen by Pete Bergstrom, Treasury’s chief financial officer and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) associate director for management.
Over the coming weeks, HR personnel will identify employees that will be realigned to TCSC. York stresses that reassigned employees will stay in their occupations and locations.
“We recognize the significance of this transformation and are approaching it with care, collaboration, and a deep commitment to continuous improvement,” York wrote.
Department of Transportation Realignment
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) launched a consolidation effort called 1DoT.
In an email to employees, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the goal is to “streamline our processes, consolidate administrative functions and modernize our infrastructure to better serve the American public.”
In that email, Secretary Duffy noted that there are redundancies in the department’s HR and IT systems, and consolidation is necessary.
“Our IT and HR systems are outdated, expensive, and unsecure,” said Secretary Duffy. “This complicated web of technology is more than just a nuisance. Less efficiency means longer wait times for project completion, grants signed, or safety reviews conducted.”
In addition to the IT overhaul, 1DoT also includes a provision to move Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) staff into the Department of Transportation Headquarters. The secretary says it represents a continuing effort to “unify” the agency.
However, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1653, which represents FAA headquarters employees, filed a complaint over the plan, saying it wasn’t properly informed of it, and alleges that there is a lack of space at DOT headquarters.
“We have a contract, and when the agency changes working conditions they're supposed to inform us, and then we're supposed to be able to ask questions, get some answers and then bargain on things that might have adverse impact to employees,” said AFSCME Local 1653 president Dan Ronneberg. “None of that has happened.”
DOT plans to share more details on the plans in the coming weeks.
