Contact: Jason Mercier, Budget Research Analyst
(360) 956-3482

It's only our money

By Jason Mercier, Evergreen Freedom Foundation

It's official. Even though the state is facing a built-in deficit of well over a billion dollars in the coming biennium, the mounting list of state audits proves state officials have some serious housecleaning to do before they even think of raising taxes.

A recent hearing summarizing the legislative audit of the Developmental Disabilities Division (DDD) in the Department of Social and Health Services, convinced me more than ever that increasing taxes is not an option.

That is, of course, unless it is ok to dump more hard-earned tax dollars into a system devoid of accountability.

The Joint Legislative Audit Review Committee's (JLARC) audit of DDD is just one of many audits this past year that illustrate the lack of accountability in our state government.

In one of DDD's many programs, JLARC determined that 32 percent of its clients were ineligible for services. During the three-month period of the audit, these ineligible individuals had received more than "$1.8 million in paid services, or 53 percent of the money expended on the 9,106 individuals in this client category."

Furthermore, of the 31,759 total individuals JLARC reviewed in various DDD programs, "approximately 2,300 had obviously ‘made up' Social Security Numbers"—2,055 being 123-456-789.

You might assume these abuses have consequences. And perhaps they would if Governor Locke would stop making himself an obstacle to independent and comprehensive performance audits of state programs. The legislature did authorize JLARC to conduct a comprehensive performance audit of DDD, but when signing the 2002 supplemental budget, Governor Locke vetoed the committee's second-year funding increase for this biennium. By eliminating the $212,000 increase, how much more revenue did the governor ultimately cost the state? Without this increase, JLARC effectively is forced to scale down the performance audit.

Why does our governor seem to fear accountability? He talks the good talk, but he has repeatedly vetoed independent and comprehensive performance audits this biennium. In addition to pushing through an irresponsible supplemental budget that ensures a huge deficit, the governor continues to prohibit the state auditor from doing the job citizens hired him to do.

In the Washington State Auditor's Office 2001 Annual Report, State Auditor Brian Sonntag addresses the need for performance reviews: "Currently, there is no overall, comprehensive review of whether state government is meeting performance goals or measures designed to ensure programs are efficient and effective. And, although it's been asked for decades, no one has stepped forward to answer the question: ‘What core services should government provide and how can it do so in the most effective and efficient way?'"

In fact, before any case can be made for a need to increase taxes, citizens must have no doubt that their current tax dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively. To that end, the state auditor recommends "expand[ing] the state's use of performance audits." He believes, "The program should authorize a full range of performance audits, including economy and efficiency audits and program audits, as well as performance verifications. It must be an independent, comprehensive program that evaluates on a regular basis whether state government programs and services are operating efficiently and are achieving desired results."

Remember the $1.8 million paid out in services to the ineligible clients in DDD? At the end of the day, it is ultimately our problem—we taxpayers. This is because state officials are not truly held accountable for wasting our tax dollars. So the problem will only exacerbate, and we will eventually feel it in our wallets.

Frankly, we do bear some responsibility. If we don't want to have our taxes wasted and potentially increased, it is our responsibility to step up to the plate and demand action be taken. Unless our elected officials feel the heat from us, what is their incentive for addressing these outrages?

That said, maybe it's time for a new battle cry. In addition to "no taxation without representation," we should proclaim "no taxation without performance audits." And not just any performance audits, but those that are truly independent and comprehensive.

After all, it is our money we're talking about. Let's ensure some real accountability for it.

Jason Mercier is a Budget Research Analyst for the Olympia-based Evergreen Freedom Foundation. He can be reached at (360) 956-3482 or jmercier@effwa.org.

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