Editor’s note: This oped is by Mark Snelling, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. He is the son of Gov. Richard Snelling and the brother of Sen. Diane Snelling.
Make no mistake, our state government is not a business and it should not be run like a business in all respects, but it certainly should borrow the best practices from the business world in areas where it is applicable to government.
In his farewell address in 1985, Governor Richard A. Snelling said:
“Efficiency and effectiveness are not, as so many suppose, enemies of sensitivity and compassion. If citizens demand of their government that it spend their money effectively and with a sense of priority, both the individual and the government will be beneficiaries.”
Last year the Legislature appointed a Joint Legislative Committee to do just as Governor Snelling suggested. The committee is made up of a bipartisan group of Legislators who joined with members of the Administration in working over the summer and fall to find innovative ways of reducing spending in state government while providing better service and results for Vermonters.
In January the Legislature passed the resulting Challenges for Change legislation which proposes to save the State $38 million dollars in the next fiscal year using this innovative approach. The work then moved to the Administration who presented their first report this week to the full Legislature.
The Administration has found the projected savings will fall into four categories:
1. Program and service integration to more effectively deliver programs
2. Better outcomes through improved technology
3. Putting people on a path to independence to save long term costs
4. Using performance incentives to encourage better performance
It is my belief that the Challenges process and its expected savings to the people of Vermont are critical to the future of Vermont. I think legislators and Vermonters should strongly embrace this legislation. It is supported by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and key legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle as a key part of returning Vermont to economic stability.
The Challenges process seeks to use the people’s money more efficiently and effectively and to set clear priorities. This should be one of our core governing principles. The only alternative to the Challenges process is further deep and harmful cuts to human services or increased taxes on Vermonters already among the highest taxed in the Country. We should reject both of these as unacceptable to hard working Vermonters and their families.
Some have criticized the process as happening too fast. The fact of the matter is the recession hit quickly and the Joint Legislative Committee reacted very quickly to work with the Administration and move this process forward as rapidly as possible. It is, in fact, an economic emergency and we need to react quickly to that emergency.
Some have problems with the lack of specific spreadsheet details. This is a normal result with transformative and innovative changes in business or government. The detail process necessarily comes after the broad processes are restructured. The savings are real, but the exact place they will occur is difficult to put on a spreadsheet at this point in the process.
Some have more specific areas of concern. Now is the time to raise and discuss those specifics. It should not, however, be at the cost of withholding support or of encouraging the process to move forward. Those concerns need to be addressed and will be addressed by the Legislative Committees of Jurisdiction during the work of the next week.
Vermonters want and deserve an efficient and effective State Government. We need to set priorities and make sure we help those who are less fortunate in our State. The Challenges for Change process makes sure that our hard earned tax dollars are spent wisely and provide Vermonters with the services they require.
