132                       WISCONSIN BLUE BOOK 1997 - 1998



  in population size and composition, as well as changing patterns in delivery
of government ser-
  vices. In recent years, the federal government has emphasized greater state
and local control of
  the programs it supports. A major example was the 1996 creation of block
grants to the states
  to replace the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) welfare
program. In
  addition, state government has passed laws, particularly in the areas of
environmental protection,
  that require local action. The new and redesigned programs may necessitate
additional employes
  at the local government level.
      As the largest single budget item, personnel costs always receive scrutiny.
In recent years
  officials have turned their attention to improving the quality and quantity
of the output of the
  current workforce, rather than budgeting for new positions. Several management
techniques are
  being considered to improve productivity. One has been to implement pay-for-performance
sys-
  tems, i.e., employes are paid based on their performance or the merit of
their work. This can be
  difficult if the outcomes depend on the efforts of many employes or when
its easy to measure
  quantity but hard to determine the quality of the work.
      Another approach is "gainsharing", in which savings realized
are distributed among all em-
 ployes. In private industry, this may take the form of bonuses. In government,
the savings may
 be distributed to individual employes or used to fund special programs,
projects or equipment
 for the benefit of all employes in the department.
     A third approach focuses not on outcomes but on inputs. In total quality
management
 (TQM), employes work together to find ways to build productivity and better
serve residents and
 clients without budgetary increases. TQM emphasizes customer service through
such tools as
 customer response surveys to provide feedback, one-stop offices that save
a client's time and
 money, and better use of technology. Libraries and registers of deeds have
improved the quality
 and quantity of their services through technology. Library patrons in many
communities can use
 electronic access to find out what books are available on a particular subject,
whether the materi-
 als are checked out, or how to request and renew books. Registers of deeds
are entering real estate
 documents into on-line indexes and improving public access to land records
through computers.

      LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT IN WISCONSIN, 1950 - 1994

                              Full-time Local Employes          Local Government
Payroll
 Year                        Number      Percent Increase Amount (in thousands)
Percent Increase
 1950 ....................   91,152                            $17,475
 1955 ....................   96,490           5.9%             25,491   
          45.9%
 1960 ....................   89,874          -6.9              37,060   
         45.4
 1965 ....................  115,221          28.2              56,891   
         53.5
 1970 ....................  136,735          18.7              94,178   
         65.5
 1975 ....................  160,985          17.7              148,461  
         57.6
 1980 ....................  166,382           3.4             232,371   
         56.5
 1985 .................... t 150,204         -9.7             310,117   
         33.5
 1990 ....................  183,318          22.1             409,907   
         32.2
 1991 ....................  186,720           1.9             434,037   
          5.9
 1992 ....................  188,921           1.2             463,507   
          6.8
 1993 ....................  189,886           0.5             480,703   
          3.7
 1994 ..................... 200,179           5.4             528,605   
         10.0
 *Estimate by the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Demographic Services
Center.
 Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Public Employment:
1992, September 1994, and previous edi-
 tions; and Public Employment Data: 1994, and previous editions.
    The Changing Civil Service. Most public employes in Wisconsin are hired,
promoted and
disciplined under the civil service. This system was developed to protect
government agencies
from political pressure and to assure that the most qualified person was
hired for the job. Civil
service demands that the requirements for a job be specified, that there
be open recruitment, that
the selection process follow specific guidelines, and that the employment
contract contain cer-
tain provisions. Over the years, the system has had it critics, who point
out that the requirements
and regulations limit government when it tries to hire quickly, respond to
changing needs or ter-
minate employes who fail to meet job standards. In some parts of the United
States there have
been efforts to do away with civil service altogether, replacing it instead
with systems which
again are open to political influence and patronage. In Wisconsin, which
was one of the early