RUB A DUB DUB- OKLAHOMANS ARE IN THE TUB!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

AUDITS AND ZBB!

by Steve Fair

     On Wednesday, the Oklahoma state board of Equalization certified $8.2 billion for next year’s state government budget.  That is $574.5 million more than last year.  The amount was $37.8 million less than what was initially certified in December, much of that due to the slowing of oil and gas exploration.  The bottom line is the legislature will have substantially more money to spend than last year and they went right to work spending it.

     On Thursday, HB#1780, authored by Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, passed the House 94-0.  If passed by the Senate and signed into law, it will provide a $1,200 across the board pay raise for public school teachers.  “I have said many times that the pay raise last year was a good first step, but my goal is to get our teachers to number one in the region in pay.” McCall said. 

     Governor Stitt asked the legislature to pass the pay hike in his State of the State address.  The $1,200 is on top of the $6,000 the legislature gave teachers last year and will make Oklahoma teachers the highest paid in the six state region.  Seeing an opportunity, the education lobby said they want more and plan to press lawmakers to increase funding even more.

     Virtually every state agency has also said they want part of the additional revenue.  After three lean years, they want funding and staffing restored to past levels.  All of the large agencies and many of the smaller ones employ outside lobbyists at taxpayer expense to lobby for more of your tax dollars.  This was a practice Governor Stitt condemned during this campaign, said he would work to stop after his inauguration, but so far, the lobbyists are still on the job, ‘educating’ the legislators at 23^rd and Lincoln.  Three observations:

     First, where are the audits?  During the campaign, every candidate for governor, including then candidate for Governor Stitt, talked constantly about audits.  Yet, a month after taking office, the governor has yet to order these comprehensive performance audits he promised that drew applause on the campaign trail.  Are they going to be done or was that just a campaign talking point?  The legislature- and the governor- should want to know where the need and the waste is at in state government before the budget process begins. 

     Second, the time to save money is when you have some.  This year’s revenue will have many state lawmakers looking for new exciting programs to fund and bureaucrats will line up with ideas.  This is the perfect time to start Zero Based Budgeting(ZBB), a system that requires justification of every single penny in a budget.  It is used by most consumer product goods companies(CPG).  Saturday’s Wall Street Journal had a full page article about ZBB used by CPGs and how it cut expenses.

     Third, the legislature needs to remember who is paying the bills.  Government consumes- the private sector creates.  Paying teachers the regional average is admirable, but doing it on the backs of hard working Oklahomans who struggle to make it is not wise and it is not sustainable. 

     Turning Oklahoma around will not start with bureaucrats- it will start with the butchers, bakers and candlestick makers.  Work at getting them to the regional average and everything else will fall into line.