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When the Legislature’s not in town, a new governor’s fancy can turn to other things. For Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer that means n among other things - focusing on making government more efficient.

Hearkening back to campaign promises about his proposed “Corps of Recovery,” Schweitzer said he has put Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger in charge of a project aimed at challenging “every single expense in state government. The process will be department by department.

“We offer a palladium coin to the state employee n every month n who gives us the best idea about delivering government more efficiently or reducing costs,” Schweitzer said. The way to remain competitive as a small business carries over to government, Schweitzer added, and that means “operate next year with less money than you operated this year.

“We’re going to turn them (state departments) upside down and look for every place that we can cut costs and make government more efficient,” Schweitzer said. “Like I said, this isn’t sexy, but this is good business management.”

Schweitzer also is spending lots of time on the road n both inside and outside the state n trying to attract new business investment and capital to Montana.

“It is information-based technologies, it’s entertainment, it’s tourism, it’s alternative energies,” Schweitzer said. He met earlier this week with more wind operators looking to beef up wind power in the state, and he continues his push toward more use of bio-diesel and finding ways to convert coal to diesel.

“We have great opportunities in Montana,” Schweitzer said. “I’m trying to bring the investment capital together with the good ideas.”

Schweitzer was in Missoula Wednesday to tour the Smurfit-Stone Container facility and speak to the annual banquet of the Missoula Downtown Association. The latter gave him a chance to honor the strength and breadth of Missoula’s business sector.

“It’s still small businesses, it’s still people that are rapidly growing their businesses, it’s bright people with new ideas that are starting new businesses,” Schweitzer said. “I want to continue to encourage and foster the growth of small businesses because it’s those businesses that are employing less than 10 people in Montana that are really our big hope for the future.”

He added that he wants to see those businesses grow and prosper which will in turn encourage other people to do the same thing.

FRIDAY ON MISSOULIAN.COM: Schweitzer on road diets, bison management and mad cows.

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