Now is the Time to Revamp Vermont State Government

Now that economists advising the state have rendered an even more dismal view of Vermont revenues (forecasts down by another $28 Million), some legislators have begun the predictable hand-wringing and 'woe is us' groaning. But the Governor and Legislative leadership have an enormous potential to revamp government and set spending on a far more rational path for the future. Opportunity is knocking.

Many government employees are choosing to accept incentives for early retirement. Others are losing their jobs. Yet, this painful downsizing of government opens a rare opportunity for an overhaul that will serve us more efficiently.

The economy may be in the tank for some extended period and far too many people have already lost their jobs in the private sector during this recession. Tax revenues will continue to deteriorate. Yet, now is absolutely the right time to seriously analyze and prioritize the services that government provides, eliminating those that are not essential. When you can't afford business-as-usual, business must adapt.

We must do this because the economy will unlikely rebound quickly, if ever, to former levels. Without a healthy private sector economy driving a future increase in the tax base, Vermont simply cannot support the present level of education, health care and social services spending. Lawmakers should not expect to see increased tax revenues anytime soon nor enough federal bailout. Banish the notion they should even entertain yet more new taxes in the next legislative session!

In the midst of myriad special interest groups jockeying for their dollars and programs, this will be very hard work. Perhaps the Governor's "Tiger Teams" searching for cost savings are a small step in the right direction. However, simply belt-tightening and chopping out a bit of cost here and there will not accomplish what's needed. We must insist on a far more comprehensive review of government.

Let's take advantage of this opportunity to seriously examine how much Vermont government can do a lower balanced budget. Government simultaneously must become more efficient, less costly and continue providing essential services of high quality. It may take a few years to accomplish this, but we must muster the will for it now.

Many people tell us that Vermont government is sorely lacking in effective technology, much of which is clunky and obsolete. Typically, legacy systems are underutilized and difficult to upgrade. It's not an easy task and one that is likely to fail if changing or replacing systems is done haphazardly without examining the processes, interrelationships and interactions necessary for efficient citizen service and internal operations. The worst mistake is to insert new technology into obsolete functions.

The tasks ahead for our government should be:

• Take a deep and thoughtful look at what government should be doing, consistent with reduced revenues.
• Determine the right combination of people, organization and technology to deliver those essential services with high quality.
• Source to the private sector (profit or non-profit) those functions that make sense and can be done more efficiently there.
  
• Spend money wisely to implement efficient systems based on proven, web-based technologies.
• Place people in the proper roles and train them on new systems.
• Demand performance-based accountability from managers and employees alike.
• Negotiate with unions the modifications in work rules needed to accomplish these changes.

Revamping government will surely cause great turmoil, yet we are already in the midst of that upheaval because of the recent budget reductions, layoffs and retirements.

Let's insist that government reinvent itself while it has this rare opportunity. Ask Governor Douglas and your legislators, particularly the leadership, to bury their political hatchets and step up to this effort. Government reform should be a centerpiece of 2010 political campaigns.