NEW YEAR’S CHALLENGES

GET HONEST ABOUT SPENDING PROBLEMS

Thomas Salmon

State Auditor Vermont

“The most special challenge is whether states can put their politics aside and focus on the outcomes that benefit the citizens. I hope that team-oriented states will productively hire consultants to help make the brave decisions if they can’t themselves (as a General Assembly). The urgent challenge is whether citizens, unions and politicians can be brutally honest with each other for the common good. Most have a spending problem from over-promising that has caught up to a revenue challenge; the time is right now… to deal with it.

straight TALK A New Year’s Fiscal Challenges

MORE DEFICITS ON THE HORIZON

Sen. Jack Hill

Appropriations Committee Chair Georgia

“As one of the five fastest-growing states, Georgia continues to have formula growth due to enrollment increases in K–12, universities and technical colleges. The higher education increases in enrollment are buoyed by the slow economy driving citizens back to school. Growth in Medicaid has also been a significant strain on the state finances. We expect any revenue growth will be consumed by increased demand for these state services. Additionally, FY 2012 offers new challenges for Georgia’s budget writers because of the end of Budget Stabilization and FMAP extension stimulus funds. Combined with the depletion of reserves and other one-time funds, Georgia will begin FY 2012 with an approximately $1.3 billion budget deficit to address.”

GOVERNMENT STILL NEEDS TO BE MORE EFFICIENT

Sen. Lou D’Allesandro

Chair of the Northeast Legislative Budget Chairs’ Committee New Hampshire

“What are you going to do with your general fund revenues that don’t seem to be improving? Does that mean you’re going to work, really work, at consolidating certain programs, consolidating certain agencies? You’re going to have to look at a number of ways to provide services in an efficient manner. We are looking at the monetization of certain assets: We’ve looked at California, Arizona (and) Connecticut. We have a couple of significant items we’re looking at, such as public-private partnerships.”

ECONOMY STRAINS WORK FORCE

Jeff Herring

Executive Director of Human Resources Utah

“Overseeing human resources for the state of Utah, my primary concern in these challenging times is to make sure we have an engaged, competent and effective work force for the public. In these times, we are like everyone, trying to do more with less. The slow recovery places a challenge on human resource areas such as training, compensation and employee development. In Utah, we managed the stimulus well and did not allocate much to ongoing budget items. Therefore, we will continue to be good stewards of the budget during these lean times and into post-recovery, whenever that comes.”

FIX BROKEN BUDGETING SYSTEM

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant

Mississippi

“These are tough economic times that we continue to face here in Mississippi. Recently, our annual budget hearings were held and in just four days of these hearings, state agencies requested $1.3 billion in new money. While there are some very compelling cases, the fiscal reality is state government cannot operate as it has in the past. The legislative hearings also prove that we must fix this broken antiquated system of budgeting taxpayer money. In the next legislative session, I intend to introduce my ‘Smart Budget Act,’ a performance-based budgeting system where resources are allocated. I have also emphasized that this would be the worst possible time to increase any taxes on small businesses or the hardworking people of Mississippi.”