Huntsman mum on Cabinet

Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. won't be announcing the members of his Cabinet until Jan. 5, two days after he's sworn in as the state's chief executive.

And Utah's first new administration in 12 years may also shrink the number of departments in state government in the coming months, by combining departments such as Public Safety and Corrections.

"Good management is always looking for ways to do more with less," Jason Chaffetz, Huntsman's chief of staff, said Wednesday, the second and final day the governor-elect spent hearing the findings of his transition team.

The team, divided into some 17 groups assigned to review everything from alcoholic beverage control to transportation, has been studying state government since shortly after Huntsman was elected on Nov. 2.

Groups in the transition team were charged with recommending who should lead the state agencies as well as suggesting ways to operate them more efficiently. Members have been instructed by the new administration not to talk to the news media about their proposals.

Greg Hopkins, transition team executive director, said each group presented Huntsman with a three- to five-page summary of what it found, as well as a short list of candidates for Cabinet posts.

Huntsman said in a statement he was "pleased with the results and grateful for the enormous amount of work that has been done" by the transition team.

Just what departments could be combined is still being decided, Chaffetz said, although employees of both the Public Safety and the Corrections departments have said they've been hearing rumors they could merge under the new administration.

The Health and the Human Services departments may also be blended. Chaffetz declined to name the departments being considered for consolidation but said in some cases divisions within a department might be moved under a new agency.

For now, Huntsman intends to fill all the existing department head positions, Chaffetz said. "Even where departments are going to be merged together, we're still going to need talent," he said.

Plus, it will likely take legislative action to make some of the changes Huntsman appears to be considering. Chaffetz said that action might not be requested during the upcoming session of the Legislature, which begins Jan. 17.

The state's employees were described by Chaffetz as "great, well-intentioned people, but we're taking a new, fresh look" at how tax dollars are being spent and at how taxpayers are being served.

Chaffetz said the transition team, made up of more than 100 Utahns representing a variety of professions and viewpoints, will stay in place and continue to report back to the governor during his term.

"It's a healthy part of the process," Chaffetz said.

Keeping the team on will enable members "to dive in a little deeper" into how the state functions, he said. "What we got was a 30-day snapshot."

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