Gov. Martin O?Malley deserves high praise for ordering his cabinet secretaries to cut $200 million from the state budget last week.
“We need agencies to refocus on their core mission, thin out middle management and squeeze spending by working smarter,” O?Malley said.
Excellent advice. It?s almost worth a high-five. Government at all levels must be efficient regardless of fat or thin budget years. Maryland faces an estimated $1.5 billion ?structural? deficit next year. It?s structural because long-term budgeting shows revenues consistently lower than obligations, not a one-time shortfall.
One of the areas he plans to focus cutting is on overtime, which cost taxpayers $125 million last year. He also wants agency heads to cut positions and reevaluate open jobs to see if they are necessary. Limiting travel and conserving energy also made his list. Those are great places to start.
Many other ways to trim excess spending exist, too. The Department of Legislative Services? audits provide a wealth of information about waste and fraud in government agencies and services. Culling through reports from the last year would be an excellent source of ideas for where and how much extra fat can be slashed from the budget.
Ultimately, however, cuts are only one way the government can reconcile the budget. As O?Malley noted, the cuts are an “initial” step. Legislators and members of his cabinet have frequently said so in recent weeks, hinting at the inevitability of tax increases to cover future shortfalls.
But better ways to cut the gap exist. Structurally reforming the state?s medical assistance programs must be at the top of the list. The state?s medical expenses are estimated to consume 20 percent of the budget by 2011, up from 15 percent in 2006, according to the Maryland Public Policy Institute.
Evaluating if massive increases in public school spending in recent years are achieving the desired academic results would also be a good step before deciding to maintain the same level of funding. The General Assembly passed Bridge to Excellence legislation in 2002, which is supposed to bring $1.3 billion extra annually by 2008 to public schools. Cutting that funding would almost eliminate the deficit.
Hard choices are ahead. O?Malley paved the way to a frank discussion about the best route for Maryland?s budget impasse by calling for cutting waste in the state government. Taxpayers deserve leaders that turn the mirror on themselves before asking them to sacrifice.
When he actually executes real cuts and deconstructs the “structural” deficit, every hand in Maryland will rise up give him five.
