Introduction
Welcome to the San Andreas State Government 2023 Year In Review.
The past year has been an eventful one for the San Andreas State Government, with numerous high points, and our equal fair share of points where we can do better. The San Andreas State Government has a duty to represent the citizens of the state, as well as help orchestrate the Government Departments in the services they provide. It is without a shadow of a doubt that the efforts displayed by all government employees, as well as the citizens of the state, throughout the year of 2023, continues to show that our state is defined by the people who reside in it and is one we should all be proud to be a part of.
Let this newsletter guide you through a look at the defining points of 2023, as well as serving as a taster of the things to come in 2024. Regardless of the highs and lows that are to come, its with no doubt that 2024 will see all of us continue to improve on ourselves, and make this state even greater than it already is.
The past year has been an eventful one for the San Andreas State Government, with numerous high points, and our equal fair share of points where we can do better. The San Andreas State Government has a duty to represent the citizens of the state, as well as help orchestrate the Government Departments in the services they provide. It is without a shadow of a doubt that the efforts displayed by all government employees, as well as the citizens of the state, throughout the year of 2023, continues to show that our state is defined by the people who reside in it and is one we should all be proud to be a part of.
Let this newsletter guide you through a look at the defining points of 2023, as well as serving as a taster of the things to come in 2024. Regardless of the highs and lows that are to come, its with no doubt that 2024 will see all of us continue to improve on ourselves, and make this state even greater than it already is.
Looking Back At 2023
Self-improvement has been a key cornerstone for the San Andreas State Government over the course of 2023. We end 2023 in a position much stronger than we started in, with a whole host of new services that we are proud to offer to the citizens of San Andreas. It has been imperative to the San Andreas State Government, and will continue to be imperative, that the services we offer provide value and assist citizens in furthering themselves and the state as a whole.
One of the new services that the Government was happy to introduce in 2023 was our revamped Government Grant system, which was developed within the Property and Housing Bureau. The grant system allows members of the public to be able to apply for additional, non-repayable, funding that can be used to start or further their own business. The San Andreas State Government is proud to confirm that several individuals have already been granted funds, including a non-profit organization. This system was birthed within the Property and Housing Bureau, as a direct way to help alleviate the pain that is felt by small business owners, when they have large upfront costs, when starting their business. Our grant can be used on furniture, advertising, staffing costs, and stock costs, all in an effort to assist where possible.
Government Grants are not the only process, with new offerings such as helicopter test flights which allows citizens to try a helicopter before they make the large purchase on one, business licensing revamps which saw improvements across the board, and the pier rejuvenation project. The rejuvenation project saw the cooperation of a number of government bureaus, in an attempt to bring about a variety of changes to help improve the public spaces around San Andreas, starting with the pier. Pier parking was temporarily abolished and the prices of fish was bolstered by the government to make the hobby more attractive to the citizens of the state.
Not all changes to processes in the Government were public this year, with a large amount of improvements happening with our internal processes. Internal continuous improvement, despite not inherently visible from the outside, is equally important as it allows us to be more structured in our offerings, and overall more efficient. The Business Licensing Bureau, under Director Ericsson, has undergone the most dramatic of these changes. The Business Licensing Bureau saw changes to its internal background check policy, which opened up many avenues for a more progressive system that is forgiving to those who wish to reform. The Business Licensing Bureau also formally introduced Non-Profit Organization status for businesses, which helped make the appropriate concessions for non-profit businesses and in turn made it easier for those seeking to improve the social services offerings in the state.
Business Licensing is not the only bureau who underwent extensive changes, as GSB has also undergone large amounts of internal review. Security Director Ramos has hit the ground running in 2023 with a smorgasbord of changes to how GSB is perceived, and operates. These changes to the GSB has allowed our security measures to improve and mature into a new era. These changes include a new office and jail building, and extensive revamp to internal procedures.
2023 has also been marked by the changes and events that happened outside of the Government, with some of the most notable being changes in various leadership positions across the state. Los Santos Customs got a new owner this year, with Liam Binnie taking over the reins from Conrad McMount after a lengthy application process. The Los Santos Police Department also got a new Chief of Police this year, with Elena Flores being selected to take over from Alex Donnelly after he was promoted to Police Commissioner. The choice to promote Alex Donnelly came after his years of hard work as chief, and his new position will allow him to make more strategic decisions for the LSPD, whilst giving Chief Flores the reigns to focus on the day-to-day operations of the LSPD.
Not all happenings in the state are positive ones, and sometimes these push us forward even more than calmer times. Terrorism and gang activity has risen its head again in our state, which in turn has united us even more than before. Actions against the Government and Law Enforcement has resulted in our response times, and response actions being even more coordinated, with peace being restored every time any individual or groups, attempt to disrupt our way of life. In 2023, we were even prepared for natural disasters, with a large storm knocking out the state's power due to disruptions at the Palmer-Taylor power plant. The Grounds keeping division, within the San Andreas Department of Corrections, sprang into action and helped recover the power grid, whilst SADOC kept the area secure.
There is no doubt that 2023 was a great year for the San Andreas State Government and for the state as a whole, and that 2024 will be an even better year.
Bureau Achivements in 2023
A 2023 recap for each of our bureaus is best stated by those who have worked tirelessly to lead them. Our Directors and Deputy Directors have outdone themselves this year to better their own bureaus, and better our government as a whole.
Chief Of Operations Tyrone Cox wrote:Within the year 2023, the San Andreas State Government has experienced considerable success and growth within all Government Bureaus. We have vastly expanded our employee workforce by welcoming a substantial number of new employees to each bureau. This increase in recruitment enhances our ability to provide exceptional services to the citizens of Los Santos, ensuring a higher standard of efficiency and effectiveness in meeting the diverse needs of our state.
Moving forward into the year 2024, we aim to build upon the achievements of the past year and propel the San Andreas State Government to even greater heights. Our primary goal is to not only sustain what we already have built but to also continue the success we have attained so far. To achieve this, we are dedicated to advancing and expanding each bureau to ensure that they not only meet but exceed their objectives and contribute meaningfully to the overall welfare and prosperity of the citizens we serve.
Government Security Bureau Director Elian Ramos wrote:GSB's core values have always been to remain within protecting government assets, personnel and buildings. When I took over the bureau this year, I began a revamp mission within my supervisory team, bringing one or two others in with me. We focused on re-creating a brand new image of GSB, one with more training to result in a similar standard to my previous profession when I was in SED for 4 years going up to a command position.
My aim within GSB, for 2024, is to have each and every agent confident and educated within their rights to detain, arrest and other tools such as de-escalation etc to fulfill their duties to a level not seen to GSB before. In this city you can never tell what you're going to be dealing with on a day to day basis and it's quite a task to train all current new staff in everything they need to know but that's the task at hand!
Administration Bureau Deputy Director Edward Bronson wrote:This past year within Administration and SASG as a whole has been a learning experience like no other. We've had our ups and our downs but we've grown through it all. We've built foundations for the year to come, the Bureaus are finding ways to make everything faster, easier, and more efficient for the citizens. We've broken down barriers, opened up more opportunities, and we're full steam ahead going into 2024 making sure that we continue to keep that pace.
So with that said, I think this is as good of a place as any to announce our forthcoming program that we will be introducing into the San Andreas State Government. Beginning at the first of the year, Citizens who have found themselves ineligible to join Government due to prior convictions will have the opportunity to apply through what is being referred to as the, "Reformed Internship Program."
We will be releasing a much more detailed breakdown of how this will work but it's something that for the past nine months I've kept alive in some form or another. So to see it roll out at the start of the New Year and with the opportunities it will bring, I believe the past year for AB has been quite a success. I have to commend the team within SASG and the Judicial Branch for fostering an environment where we can continue to create a better experience for all the citizens of San Andreas. You all have my very best wishes going into 2024!
Law Review Committee and Property & Housing Bureau Deputy Director Andy Tyrie wrote:The Property & Housing Bureau has gone through some major changes within the past year. Unfortunately, the majority of this work will not be seen on the outside. We have gone through leadership changes twice this year, first from Director Tiffany McMount passing on to Acting Director Zach Jones, and now onto myself.
Since taking over the Property & Housing Bureau, we have implemented some quality of life changes for the staff working within the bureau, as well as some measures to ensure fairness and consistency from one application to the next. With these changes, we are a much smoother sailing ship.
The Government Grants, which were originally started by Director Tiffany McMount, have now been solidified and are running with the original aim and focus. The active development of this system has been worked on by all three leaders, finally being pushed out to a higher degree by myself.
All in all, we have strengthened our processes and internal staff team, upping to a team of 5 now, with a 6th possibly coming on, which would leave us as the joint largest Civilian Bureau in the San Andreas State Government.
This coming year, we have many plans, and only time will tell which ones come to fruition. #PropertyTaxes2024. One of the more developed ideas is the rental of businesses, more along the lines of the Business Lease Desk but with more custom-built properties, putting to use the constructed properties currently held by the Property & Housing Bureau. Other than this, we will all have to buckle up and watch.
Business Licensing Bureau Director Marc Ericsson wrote:When I rejoined the Business Licensing Bureau, this year, it was after the departure of the previous Director. I rejoined as a Lead Official and during that time, I worked on a number of internal improvements to the Bureau, most notability, finalizing and releasing the internal handbook and guides.
I later moved onto updating the existing Business Competition Policy. Concerns were brought to the Bureau about one parent company at the time having the only two boat dealerships under their umbrella. The policy was updated to implement a limit on how many subsidiaries in each market they can have under them. The policy stated "Parent Companies will not be allowed to own/control more than 25% of the businesses operating within that specific market."
We also implemented a way for business or individuals who received a fine from the Business Licensing Bureau to appeal them. After receiving a fine, individuals will be allowed up to 7 days to submit a fine appeal by submitting statements and any evidence, it will be reviewed and concluded by the Business Licensing Bureau.
Another policy that was updated was the Background Check Policy. To move away from a system that saw Business Owners losing their business easily due to being charged with some felonies, we changed our policy to fully remove the possibility of a business being seized due to a failed background check. It has now been fully replaced with a fine system, each repeated offence of a failed background check will result in an increased fine.
We also made accommodations for the creation and registration of Non Profit Organizations. These Non-Profit businesses will not be required apply for any business licenses as they will not be operating to make a profit, however whenever they receive a donation or make one, they are required to inform the Business Licensing Bureau, using the provided format.
Finally, we introduced the Vending Machine Retailer license with strict relegations and information about what can and can not be sold in vending machines.
Moving into 2024, the Business Licensing Bureau hopes to work closer with business owners to create a more friendly and cooperative relation with them. With plans in the work to create a Business Owners Association which will be fully independent and ran by elected and appointed business owners. We also plan to make some changes to a few licenses to better the descriptions and make them unambiguous. As for any other upcoming plans, you can keep an eye out on our Business Notice Board for updates and changes in the future.
We are also currently working on a Business Opening Incentives, where the Business Licensing Bureau will aid business owners when they open their business by providing a partial rebate on their expenses. This is still in the early phase of development and we hope to have it fully up and running in the first few months of 2024.
Public Relations Deputy Director Herrman Wolff wrote:The past year has been a busy one for the Public Relations Bureau, as well as the rest of the San Andreas State Government. I must admit up front that the majority of the work done this year by Public Relations has been done by the previous Director, OJ Wood. Under his tenure, and continued on in mine, the Public Relations Bureau has found its structure and footing in three main areas; events, public outreach, and written communications.
This structure was laid out and build upon in 2023 by every single person who has worked in the bureau, as it continues to refine itself and evolve from the one-man show it used to be, to a team based effort that redefines how the public interact with The San Andreas State Government and vice versa.
In the back end of 2023, and going into 2024, the Public Relations Bureau is committed to continuing to host a variety of events in the state and as well as opening itself to help support citizen held events. 2024 will also be a year we focus more on transparency and finding the right balance between what we share, and when we share it. This focus is done in an effort to bring every citizen's viewpoints to the table and use them to make informed decisions, whilst also focusing on the government's own continuous improvements.
San Andreas Aviation Administration Director Gordon Graves wrote:When applying to join SAAA, I had several goals in mind. I wanted to develop the commercial side of things so people may begin starting aviation focused businesses, push for a few key changes to the flight school system as a whole, and generally improve public outreach. Upon being accepted and sifting through our internals, however, my focus greatly shifted into fleshing out our internal structure. We were missing key elements that would allow us to fulfill my aforementioned goals, so I got to work. Now that they're all completed for the most part, I've begun pushing forward my original goals. If you visit our public notice board, you'll notice the introduction of Demo Flight Requests as well as Commercial Pilot Licenses. These two things push public outreach and check off the first of those original goals.
Moving forward, we hope to continue pushing for those original goals and generally making aviation a more accessible - and most importantly more affordable - hobby to the citizens of San Andreas.
Looking Forward To 2024
As much as the new year is a time to reflect on the past year, it's also equally a time to look forward at what is to come and to prepare ourselves for it. 2024 will see The San Andreas State Government work to continue our goals of self-improvement, transparency, and ability to provide relevant government services to the citizens of the state.
The San Andreas State Government will also be looking to improve its approaches to hiring to match recent progressive changes that many government departments have gone under. The Administration Bureau has committed a large amount of time to flesh out a reformation processes that will allow individuals with select criminal charges, to apply for and earn a position within the San Andreas State Government. This process has already been trialled with two individuals at the end of 2023 and the government is looking forward to releasing a full length press release that will provide more information on the process.
The Business Licensing Bureau, in conjunction with the Public Relations Bureau and Weazel News, will be finishing and releasing a new set of processes that aim to support small businesses and incentivise them to open regularly within the state of San Andreas. It's understood that operating businesses within San Andreas can be a costly endeavour, so the government will be looking to introduce monetary incentives, and the potential for a set number of free adverts, for businesses as a way of improving the amount that they open, and in turn allow citizens to get better benefit from them.
There is much more in store for 2024 that will be announced when the opportunity raises itself, but it is also important to note that much like in 2023, a large amount of work will be put into our internal processes and their refinement. The San Andreas State Government hopes to keep its momentum in identifying key internal processes and improving them to allow us to build upon them appropriately.
2023 In Pictures
► Show Spoiler
December Promotions
We are thrilled to share exciting news from the San Andreas State Government! Over the past month, we have witnessed numerous individuals within our organization receive well-deserved promotions. With each step, they assume increased responsibilities, enabling them to make a more significant impact on the City of Los Santos.
Appointments
Appointments
- Adaline Lovelace, San Andreas Aviation Administration Intern
- Kellie Vaeseri, Public Relations Bureau Intern
- Grace Speed, Business Licensing Bureau Reformed Intern
- Arnold Rimmer, Government Security Bureau Junior Agent
- Mark Bloomfield, Government Security Bureau Lead Agent
- Jabar Williams, Business Licensing Bureau Intern
- Freddie Wilson, Junior Agent
- Dave Spencer, Junior Agent
- Grace Speed, Business Licensing Bureau
- Jabar Williams, Business Licensing Bureau
- Kellie Vaeseri, Public Relations Bureau
- Gordon Graves, San Andreas Aviation Administration
- Freddie Wilson, Government Security Bureau
Government Award of Excellence
Over her 2+ year tenure at the San Andreas State Government, Emily Whitehorse has proven herself time and time again by showing her impeccable work ethic, astute attention to detail, and her ability to approach any situation from a position of impartiality that is commended by everyone who knows her.
One of the most defining moments of her career has been her contributions to the creation of the San Andreas Constitution, and the formation of the Law Review Committee. These acts brought upon a new era of democracy in the state of San Andreas and have revolutionized how individuals can interact with, and change, the state of San Andreas based on a representation model of government. Following her creation of the Law Review Committee, she was eventually promoted to the Chief of Staff for the San Andreas State Government, and solidified her place as part of the Board of Governors.
The Chief of Staff, is one of few individuals who oversees operations in several government departments, holding lucrative positions in these departments. It is this selfless commitment to the state that earned her the Government Award of Excellence and it's with no doubt that she will continue to be a key part of our state, in the years to come.
Governor Lewis Langley wrote: Emily Whitehorse is one of the most impressive individuals that I have ever met, and it is my pleasure to be able to present her with the Government Award of Excellence, on behalf of the Board of Governors.
I have had the privilege of working with Emily for many years now, and her commitment to the Government and the state of San Andreas never fails to amaze me. Emily is an individual that everyone can rely on, to make the right decision for the state, even if it is the most difficult decision.
Her contributions to the San Andreas State Government are second to none, and it's these contributions that have earned her this award, even when she could have easily been awarded for a number of different reasons.
Emily, you have been a fantastic colleague, and a wonderful friend over the years and I look forward to continuing to work with you for some time to come.
Closing Statement
The end of 2023, marks another rotation around the sun, and marks another year of improvement for our great state. While we have high hopes for 2024, there's no telling what will truly be in store, but one thing for sure is that as a state, and community, we will tackle it together in the best ways possible.
From everyone in the San Andreas State Government, we hope you had a fantastic festive period, and we hope you have had a fantastic 2023. We hope to see you all in the new year with new virility, and we cannot wait to continue we fantastic work we all do, as a community.
Contact Information
Kellie Vaeseri
Government Offical | Public Relations Bureau
San Andreas State Government
Herrman Wolff
Interim Deputy Director | Public Relations Bureau
San Andreas State Government
Andrea Fallon, M.D., F.R.C.O.G., OB/GYN
Interim Director | Public Relations Bureau
Assistant To The Governor
San Andreas State Government