Mary Mosiman , Director , Iowa Department of Revenue and Stephen Larson , Division Administrator , Alcohol & Tax Operations , Iowa Department of Revenue
were affected .
In preparation for the restructuring , the ABD invested a great deal of time in getting employees excited about organizational change management . Internal team members were also guided by a change management team , with a strong emphasis placed on communications and trainings , largely centered around technology .
The ABD is now in what it has dubbed an “ integration phase ,” which will continue through December 2024 as the division works toward fully merging its strategic planning , operations , systems , processes and staff with that of the Department of Revenue .
TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
A top priority of the department is to enhance current technology by bringing all hared administrative actions , including tax filing and payments along with obtaining licenses , into one system — GovConnectIowa . This is a free and secure portal operated by the Department of Revenue to manage transactions across multiple state agencies .
Another goal is to build an expanded portal that allows all constituents to more easily manage all transactions related to alcohol , licensing , payments and lottery all in one place . GovConnectIowa also allows people to communicate more efficiently with the Department of Revenue and view records of previous correspondence within the portal . Mosiman , who helped lead the department ’ s multiyear tax moderniza tion effort , also plans to bring all the ABD ’ s legacy systems on board and integrated into a more user-friendly format by the end of 2025 .
“ Whenever you try to elevate the customer experience , there is rarely a downside , but still , change is change ,” Mosiman says . “ We made every effort to ensure that people understood why this was happening and to ensure that any questions they have are addressed in a timely matter .”
As for the results of these efforts , it is too early for the ABD to have new financial records to share , although the state is capturing data to monitor the results .
Another focus area of the ABD is to expand current outreach and education efforts by adding additional resources related to licensing and trade practicing . Planning is currently in development .
FORECASTING WAREHOUSING NEEDS
A big priority of the ABD is to analyze the results of a warehouse capacity study , which was recently completed . The agency ’ s current warehouse has been in use since 1986 . Four years ago , an expansion added additional capacity for a total of 220,000 square feet — and yet , the facility is already completely full .
“ In the last 10 to 12 years , we ’ ve seen an increase in de-
10 StateWays • Winter 2023 www . stateways . com