Young professionals, seasoned owners of Rhode Island businesses and people in corporate management positions, all members of the 2015 Class of Leadership Rhode Island, heard Lt. Gov. Daniel McKee say Friday he is “cautiously optimistic” that the state can change for the better.

McKee moderated an afternoon panel discussion during the day-long “government day” designed to give the class a hands-on lesson on the legislative process, accomplished with mock committee hearings on pending bills and a floor vote on those bills. The theme for the day was “re-casting Rhode Island.”

McKee didn’t varnish his hopes for the state, nor, for that matter, did panelists Cranston Mayor Allan Fung and the man he beat in a primary for the Republican nomination for governor, Ken Block. Rounding out the panel that focused on municipal efficiencies and innovation were Nicole Pollock, chief of the innovation office for Providence, and Shawn Selleck, project manager for the state office of digital excellence.

“I say cautiously,” said McKee, “because there are those who want to protect the status quo. I don’t happen to agree.”

Block was ready to shake things up. He’s earned a reputation for doing that. He is the founder and president of the Warwick-based Simpatico Software Systems Inc., who hit the political scene when he started questioning how things are run in the state, founding the Moderate Party to offer an alternative to the state’s two dominant political parties. In a surprise move after winning enough votes for governor in 2010 to gain the Moderates a place on the ballot in 2014, he registered and ran as a Republican. Bob Healey ran under the Moderate banner.

Since losing in the primary to Fung, Block has founded Watchdog RI, a group that recently released an in-depth study of the state’s fire departments comparing staffing, pieces of equipment and costs to the taxpayer to cities and areas of comparable size and population of Rhode Island.

Statewide, Block said, Rhode Island has more fire engines than the cities of Dallas and Phoenix combined. He pointed out that even though the state has 39 cities and towns, it has 66 operational fire departments.

“Disconsolidation is killing us. It’s an issue we have to hit and we have to hit hard,” he said.

Selleck went along with Block’s newly coined word “disconsolidation.” He offered some hope regarding the e-permitting system being developed for 10 municipalities, including Warwick. The system will enable people to navigate the process of applying for municipal permits online.

“We really have a new philosophy that is gaining traction,” he said. “It’s public information, and it should be easily accessible.”

For Fung, the challenge to change is found in six words: “We’ve always done it that way.”

He spoke of how a dramatic hike in health care costs prompted municipalities to form the health care collaborative so that by combining, they had the leverage to reduce increases for huge taxpayer savings. He also spoke of the collaborative relationship between Cranston and Warwick to provide meals at the Cranston and Pilgrim senior centers.

But as the leadership class learned, while efficiencies may appear obvious, implementing them can be a different story.

“It’s not easy to deliver the message that there are inefficiencies,” McKee said. He asked the panel how to make change.

Block saw obstacles such as binding arbitration. Selleck saw the need for leadership at every level in order for transition.

“Action is driven by changes in systems and people,” said Pollock.

Fung agreed, adding that technology is empowering government to break away from paperwork and increase productivity.

Asked how they would spend $100,000 to be innovative, Block targeted emergency dispatch, observing that only 13 municipalities have combined police and fire dispatch. Statewide, he said there are 300 emergency dispatchers, as compared to 100 for the city of San Diego.

It was an example that had one member of the leadership class observing that while consolidation may mean savings, it is also sending the message that jobs are going to be lost.

Block said the action taken must consider what can be done as well as the burden on the taxpayer.

“I don’t know what we can tell those people,” he said. “We have redundant jobs, and we’re paying through the nose for it.”