Posted on 08/27/2004 4:37:01 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Claims by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Performance Review that the state can save $32 billion over five years by reorganizing state government are overblown and the problems caused by such a massive shake-up have been largely overlooked, according to a report made Friday by the Legislative Analyst.
Schwarzenegger launched the review in January to fulfill a campaign pledge to reinvigorate state government. The group issued a 2,700-page report earlier this month that offered more than 1,000 recommendations - including the slower growth of state jobs, merging dozens of departments and improving customer service.
He also said the reorganization would help solve the state's ongoing spending imbalance that the every year produces steep deficits.
While Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill's review found much to like in the plan, analysts said the savings are not likely to exceed $15 billion over five years, about the same size as this year's deficit alone.
"They are simply not going to achieve the kind of savings that will eliminate the state's budget shortfall," said Brad Williams, senior economist with the LAO. "We have to give them credit - there are a lot of good ideas too. But we don't see as much savings overall."
Neither the governor's office nor representatives of the California Performance Review responded directly to the LAO's report.
Ken Hunt, CPR spokesman, said his organization "is pleased that the LAO finds value in our recommendations."
Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Ashley Snee said that although Schwarzenegger has already acted on a handful of the CPR recommendations through executive orders, the governor is waiting for a public review process to conclude before taking positions on the overall program.
The LAO's criticism focused on three broad proposals that would provide almost half of the plan's proposed savings. One calls on the state to maximize federal grants; another would revise how welfare benefits are administrated; and the third involves savings derived from the smaller work force.
In each case, analysts said, the CPR gave little detail to document how the savings would be achieved or ignored major hurdles.
They noted, for instance, that getting more federal funds would require changes in funding formulas that would likely cost other states money and thus may be politically impractical. While the idea of using high tech systems and the Internet for improving welfare eligibility is a good one, analysts said, the governor's plan failed to consider fully how expensive and difficult that would be.
A smaller work force will save money, the LAO concluded. But analysts said those savings were exaggerated because they were counted twice.
Also, the LAO analysts said merging departments and agencies to streamline management could just mean "mega departments" that are too large to be managed well.
Business leaders and union members sharply criticized the performance review during a hearing in San Jose Friday.
Plans to impose rigorous evaluations on employees are not feasible, said J.J. Jellincic, president of the 136,000-member California State Employees Association. "How do you calculate the value of someone like a teacher of a prisoner who won't be out of prison for 10 years?" he asked.
Members of the panel that reviews CPR recommendations seemed jaded, glazing over during a PowerPoint display that applied Silicon Valley buzzwords to state bureaucracy.
After a summary on the need to "right-size" the state work force and "replace process-orientation with performance-based orientation," one panel member said he was experiencing an "overwhelming sense of deja vu," likening the project to former Gov. Pete Wilson's plans to "revolutionize" the state bureaucracy in 1993.
Russell Hancock, chief executive of industry trade group Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, said the reorganization team faced daunting challenges.
"Unfortunately, our state's history of reform efforts is a graveyard of failures," Hancock said.
Jim Hard, president of the 90,000-member Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 - and part of Jellincic's union, applauded efforts to run state agencies like corporations - if they'd also pay wages comparable to the private sector. He was upset that the CPR asked for input from fewer than 10 percent of rank-and-file state employees.
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On the Net
Gov.'s home page:
http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov-homepage.jsp
Legislative Analyst
http://www.lao.ca.gov/main.aspx
2700 pages....how many pages are devoted to cutting off welfare funds to illegals? Must be at least $10 billion dollars there....the illegal alien problem is like the elephant sitting in the living room - ignore it and its not there......
It's worked real well so far, huh? ;-)
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