Governor Announces Leadership Transition at Department of Revenue -Kurt Alme to leave

Governor Judy Martz today announced a transition in the
leadership of the Department of Revenue.

Current Revenue Director Kurt Alme is planning to leave his position soon
after the end of the legislative session to join the US Attorney’s Office in
Billings, Montana.

"Kurt has done an exceptional job in cooperation with the Revenue Department
and Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity in developing the
administration’s tax policy for economic development and leading the
department through a challenging time of budget cuts and the initial stages
of transitioning to a new revenue computer system. During Kurt’s tenure,
the department has stayed on track to complete statewide reappraisal of
property, successfully implemented last session’s "Big Bill" simplifying
state and local revenue transfers, streamlined and clarified liquor law, and
increased compliance revenues to the state," said Governor Martz. "I am
thankful for the opportunity to work with Kurt and am saddened that he will
be leaving our team. I am very happy for him as he accepts this new
opportunity in his exceptionally bright career."

Linda Francis, who has been working within the Department for the past few
months, brings expertise in business applications, change management systems
and systems management. She will join the Department of Revenue immediately
as an interim program manager to assist with planning for the transition of
the wage-based taxes from POINTS to a new computer tax system.

"I am pleased that Linda will be assisting in the management of the
department through the end of the session," said Governor Martz. "It is my
intent to name her as the department’s director when Kurt leaves."

The addition of Linda Francis to the management team at the Department of
Revenue will help the department to transition as efficiently and
cost-effectively as possible to the new computer system, the Governor
continued.

"The technical transition to a new computer system is the key component in
updating how we process taxes in our department," said Alme. "But just as
important is managing the business process changes that need to occur in
order for the transition to be as smooth as possible. This includes
ensuring that all system users in the Department of Revenue are adequately
trained and prepared to operate under the new system. I have worked with
Linda in the past and I am confident that she will be a key asset in this
process."

Francis has nineteen years of professional management and consulting
experience in both government and private sector, including experience in
information technology, transportation services and health and human
services.

Most recently, she has served as the Business Plan Administrator of the
Department of Transportation, which included development and managing the
department’s strategic business plan and new performance appraisal system.

She was also the project executive for a $10 million dollar integrated
financial system effort in the Department of Transportation. The goal of
the system was to eliminate 35 separate financial applications and migrate
all systems to the stat’s People Soft solution utilizing the statewide
accounting system.

Francis is also the President of Concentric Circles Consulting, and has
provided consulting services to the Department of Administration, the
Department of Transportation, the Montana Contractors Association and the
Fort Peck Interpretive Center.

Francis was also the director of the Systems Group at Maximus, Inc. from
1997-1999, working on human resources information technology and business
users projects in Montana, Washington, DC, Hawaii, Missouri, and Texas.

She served as the Director of the State and Local Systems Unit with BDM
International from 1996-1997, and was the Director of Operations Analysis,
Children and Family Services for Lockheed Martin IMS from 1994-1996. She
also worked in various capacities in state government in North Carolina from
1989-1994.

From 1985-1989, Francis had a private counseling office and was a domestic
relations hearing officer in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Court of Common
Pleas.

Francis has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Penn State
University in 1989, a Master of Science Degree in Counseling from West
Chester University in 1985 and received her bachelor’s degree from North
Carolina State University in 1973.

Francis was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1953. She graduated from Terry
Sanford High School (North Carolina) in 1970. Francis has no military
experience. She is single with no children.

Francis’ salary will be $83,932.
###

Range of Experience
Nineteen years of professional management and consulting experience within
the government and private sector in the areas of information technology,
health & human services, and transportation services. Experience includes:
o state government consulting services in the areas of large-scale systems
development & integration, business process reengineering (BPR), and quality
assurance;
o strong experience in large organization business realignment;
o senior management of state child support enforcement & collections agency;
o corporate level operations analysis; and
o life-cycle project management expertise.

Education
Master of Public Administration, Penn State University, 1989 (G.P.A. 4.0)
Master of Science, Counseling, West Chester University, 1985 (G.P.A. 4.0)
Bachelor of Arts, World History, North Carolina State University, 1973

Professional Experience

Montana Department of Transportation – Business Plan Administrator (August
2001 to present)

o Administrator/developer of the department’s strategic Business Plan and
new performance appraisal system. Position reports to the Director and is
responsible for ensuring that all six Divisions and eleven area offices
implement the plan’s strategic initiatives and performance criteria.

o Project oversight for an $8M integrated financial system effort intended
to eliminate 35 separate financial applications through the creation of an
activity based costing environment & maximum utilization of the statewide
accounting system (SABHRS).

o Conducts organizational assessments throughout the department in order to
assess program operations and efficiencies. Recommends changes to the
Director and subsequent implementation of adopted recommendations.

Concentric Circles Consulting – President (November 1999 to present)

o Montana Department of Administration: Consultant to the state’s Chief
Information Officer to analyze remediation strategies for large-scale
systems projects and provision of organizational assessment and quality
assurance services as requested.

o Montana Department of Transportation: Long term contract engagement (two
year) that lead the agency through a strategic planning process that
utilized the Balanced Scorecard methodology to develop the first Business
Plan in the department’s organizational history. Strong facilitation,
change management, and marketing were critical in this engagement.

o Montana Contractors Association Executive Board: Lead the client through
an off-site facilitation session utilizing Balanced Scorecard to update
their Strategic Plan, including communications strategy with the Montana
Department of Transportation.

o Fort Peck Interpretive Center Executive Board: Developed a five-year
Business Plan for the Fort Peck Dam Interpretive Center and Museum. Center
provides Northwest Montana with a regional interpretive center critical to
the economic development of the region.

MAXIMUS, INC. – Director, Systems Group (September 1997 to November 1999)

o Montana Department of Transportation Reengineering Project: Project
Manager for a PeopleSoft HR & Financial module implementation. Required a
systematic examination of existing business practices impacted &
recommendations for new practices. Developed new desk top training manuals
that incorporated business process changes resulting from the new software
functionality mapped against existing business processes.

o District of Columbia Child Support Enforcement Reengineering Project:
Project Manager to assist the District with executive level Strategic
Planning and Operations Business Process Redesign in order to actualize its
legislative consolidation of the Office of Paternity and Child Support
Enforcement (OPCSE) and the Office of Corporation Council (OCC). The
strategic planning and BPR efforts involved representation from all-levels
of the affected agencies to yield greatly improved performance in all facets
of the enforcement program.

o Texas Integrated Enrollment System (TIES) Project: Technical consultant
assisting the State in the preparation of a detailed RFO for the design and
development of the new eligibility determination system that would
streamline service delivery across multiple human services agencies,
including the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS), the Texas Workforce
Commission (TWC), and the Texas Department of Health (TDH). The team
developed a set of immediate improvements, or process changes, that could be
implemented to achieve immediate cost savings and/or improved client access
and benefit/service delivery.

o Hawaii Child Support Enforcement System (KEIKI): Technical consultant to
assist the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office to conduct Integration and User
Acceptance testing activities with business users and technical staff. Part
of a larger, multi-year effort to plan and monitor (QA) the implementation
of Hawaii’s new child support enforcement system. The QA component of this
assignment involved monitoring Lockheed Martin IMS (prime contractor) to
ensure that all aspects of the system were reviewed and tested to determine
functionality and compliance with design specifications and to identify the
level of effort required to complete the system and attain federal
certification.

o Missouri Child Support Services: Technical consultant to assure that
functional and technical requirements met federal guidelines through data
validation and data stability improvements; reviewing project work plans,
schedules, and other project activities and providing an accurate and
impartial assessment of project status; and reviewing acceptance test
results, identifying test discrepancies, and determining whether the
resolution of test discrepancies impacted project scope.
BDM International – Director, State and Local Systems Unit (May 1996 to
September 1997)

o Served as subject matter expert advisor to systems development projects
dealing with child support enforcement & collections, welfare reform, foster
care, and other areas of business unit that were engaged in the marketing of
system solutions related to health and human service programs.

o Developed a prototype for an integrated Title IV front-end case management
system that captured newly legislated Welfare Reform data elements and
interfaces with existing legacy systems utilizing client server, data
warehouse, and Internet technology.

Lockheed Martin IMS – Director of Operations Analysis, Children and Family
Services (February 1994 to May 1996)

o Performed corporate trouble-shooting on high-risk Title IV system
development contracts. Primary areas of focus included client relations,
subcontractor management, and conversion planning and implementation.

o Served on a corporate-wide Task Force responsible for the design of
revenue assessment practices including performance assessment tools,
business process reengineering, quality assurance, and operations analysis
for selected privatization projects.

o Additional responsibilities included identification of new business
opportunities, creation of alternative marketing approaches for child
support privatization, and strengthening of client relationships on existing
contracts.

North Carolina Department of Human Resources – ACTS Project Executive
(January 1992 to February 1994)

o Project administrator for the $60 million child support enforcement
Automated Collection & Tracking System (ACTS) development effort mandated by
the Family Support Act of 1988. Duties included management of the state
project team, including Project Director; oversight of the development
contractor; mediation of disputes between state and vendor project
directors; securing federal budget authorization; and reporting project
progress to the state Legislative and Information Resource Management
Oversight Committees. Secured all legislative project related budgetary
approvals, and negotiation and approval of all contract amendments.

North Carolina Child Support Enforcement Division – Chief, Local Operations
(April 1990 to January 1992)

o Responsible for local operations in this complex state supervised, county
administered federally regulated program in 100 counties, 15 of which were
state administered. Relationship management was integral to the additional
85 county operations over which this position maintained audit authority.
Managed revenue collection base of $240 million annually and a total
workforce of 1,250 employees.

o Direct management of a regional audit staff charged with local program
audit (federal compliance) and corrective action monitoring. Developed a
child support enforcement performance measurement system that was
implemented statewide over a one-year timeframe.

o Drafted & secured passage of legislation to enhance program effectiveness,
developed biennial program budgets, and coordination with the Welfare &
Medicaid agencies for the creation of statewide practices such as
co-location of client interviews to facilitate "one stop" shopping.

North Carolina Department of Human Resources – Special Assistant to the
Director, Division of Social Services (November 1989 to April 1990)

o Responsible for securing cooperation and managing effective interface
between the Division Chiefs in charge of the Welfare (AFDC), Employment
Services, Child Support Enforcement, and Children and Adult Services
programs housed within the Department for all special projects designated by
the Director.

o Co-author and legislative presenter of the "North Carolina Social Services
Plan: A Road Map for Change" which received legislative approval and funding
for a pilot study.

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas – Domestic Relations
Hearing Officer (May 1985 to November 1989)

o Court appointed domestic relations mediator for dispute resolution related
to issuance of child and spousal/alimony support orders (consistently
attained an annual settlement rate exceeding 80 percent) and served as
interim Master.

o Regular (weekly) court appearances on behalf of Domestic Relations Office
as a result of respondents’ failure to appear or other non-compliance issues
related to court ordered support.

Private Counseling Practice (December 1985 to November 1989)

o Individual and group counseling practice dealing with a myriad of
situational issues including change management, motivational, and
self-esteem issues.

o Special volunteer work with pre-release felons.