Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director
(360) 956-3482

Governor, budget team outline innovative solution to state deficit

Governor Gary Locke and his budget director, Marty Brown, have come up with an innovative and exciting approach to solving Washington's budget deficit. Old thinking says the state must approach budgeting with two options: raise taxes or cut services (or some combination of both). But Locke and Brown have outlined a third option that bases the state's future spending on estimated revenue, clearly defined goals and measurable outcomes.

The governor's Office of Financial Management (OFM) has answered four key questions:

1. How much money does the state have?
2. What does the state want to accomplish?
3. What is the most effective way to accomplish the state's goals with the money available?
4. How will the state measure its progress in meeting those goals?

"We're asking these questions from a fundamentally different perspective than before," said Locke at a Seattle Chamber meeting last month. "Rather than just assume historical funding levels for existing programs, based on legislative tradition, our premise is that our budget must be based on desired outcomes."

Three cheers!

OFM's model will revolutionize state spending and take necessary steps toward assuring accountability to taxpayers. It will identify, simply and clearly, what the state plans to accomplish and how it will pay for the services. Then it will measure the state's progress toward those goals.

EFF is now calling on the governor to encourage both parties in the state legislature to appoint four representatives from each caucus to work with OFM. These representatives and the governor's budget team can then develop a resolution identifying the core functions of the state and creating a plan to achieve those functions. The new budget should be built to achieve that plan.

The budget is the most important piece of legislation lawmakers will pass next year. They must be actively involved in the budget process. Thanks to the efforts of the governor and OFM, they will now have the tools necessary to achieve the state's goals efficiently and effectively.

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org