SAGE commission appointments announced

Gov. Jim Gibbons on Monday announced the names of 13 appointees who will join Bruce James on his Spending and Government Efficiency commission.

He has directed the commission to make a thorough examination of the operations of state agencies to streamline them and maximize the use of taxpayer dollars.

The SAGE commission is designed more with long-term changes to government in mind than as a tool in the current budget crisis. When he announced the commission in May, Gibbons said he expected real ideas agencies could implement, hopefully without additional funding. He said it would be an ongoing process.

"I do not expect to get back a 10,000-page report that sits idle on a shelf," he said.

James, who chairs the commission, said the task will cost an estimated $500,000 but that they will raise the money from foundations and other sources and won't require state funding.

He is the former U.S. Public Printer who was credited with reorganizing and greatly improving the efficiency of that agency.

The appointments announced today are:

- Don Ahern, CEO of Ahern Rentals

- Barbara Smith Campbell, founder of Consensus LLC and former chairman of the Nevada Tax Commission

- R.B. Feldman, president of Nevada General Insurance and Auto Insurance America

- Randy Garcia, CEO of Investment Counsel Company

- David Goldwater, president of Goldwater Capital Nevada and a former state assemblyman

- Steve Hill, Senior VP of California Portland Cement

- Jan Jones, Senior VP of Harrah's Entertainment and former Mayor of Las Vegas

- Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest and Braniff Airlines

- Jerome Snyder, developer and creator of Bingo Palace, now Station Casinos, owner of Sun West Bank

- Jim Thornton, president of Nevada Paving and former Reno City Councilman

- Carole Vilardo, president of the Nevada Taxpayers Association