Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2003
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Room: Monarch Room A
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has made substantial investments in information technology.
To increase state government operating efficiencies, the Rendell Administration has undertaken a comprehensive process to inventory IT systems and prioritize new and ongoing IT expenditures across the Commonwealth enterprise.
This session will explore the process and its objectives, which are to assure:
- Informed decision-making regarding IT spending.
- That IT investments are consistent with and support the Governor’s highest priorities.
- All efforts are made to leverage solutions and investments across agencies.
- Interoperability of IT assets across the Commonwealth.
Presenter:
Michael J. Masch
Secretary of the Budget
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Michael Masch was appointed Secretary of the Budget by Governor Edward G. Rendell and began serving in this position on January 21, 2003.
Prior to his appointment as Secretary of the Budget, Mr. Masch served as Vice President for Budget and Management Analysis at the University of Pennsylvania where he was responsible for the preparation of the University’s annual operating budget, development of the University’s five-year financial plan, and the effective integration of the University’s operating budget with its capital program.
At Penn, Mr. Masch also served as a member of the faculty at the University’s Fels Institute of Government, where he taught the core course on “performance-based budgeting” in the Fels Master of Government Administration program.
Prior to joining the Office of the President at the University of Pennsylvania in May 1996, Secretary Masch served under then-Mayor Edward G. Rendell as Budget Director for the City of Philadelphia from 1992 to 1996.
In 1992, the City of Philadelphia was on the verge of bankruptcy following ten years of persistent city budget deficits. Mr. Masch played an important role on the team that succeeded in balancing the Philadelphia budget during Mayor Rendell’s first year in office. He then played a key role in developing and implementing Mayor Rendell’s subsequent groundbreaking program of annual tax cuts, growing budget surpluses and incremental service improvements.
Prior to his service as Philadelphia budget director, Mr. Masch served as director of economic analysis for the Philadelphia City Council from 1983 to 1991, during the administration of Mayor Wilson Goode.
Mr. Masch was named to the Philadelphia Board of Education in March 2000 by Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street and served as chair of the Board’s finance committee until December 2001, when the Philadelphia school board was replaced by a new state-local School Reform Commission established by the Governor of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania legislature.
In January 2002, Mr. Masch was appointed by Governor Mark Schweiker and Mayor John F. Street to serve as one of five members of the new Philadelphia School Reform Commission. As a member of the School Reform Commission, Mr. Masch participated in the development and implementation of the SRC’s successful plan to rescue the Philadelphia school system from insolvency. He also participated in the SRC’s bold and innovative first year initiatives to dramatically improve safety, efficiency, accountability, and educational effectiveness in the Philadelphia public school system.
Secretary Masch is a native Philadelphian. He majored in Urban Studies as an undergraduate at Temple University and pursued graduate studies in the Public Policy Analysis Program at the University of Pennsylvania.
