Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 14, 2002
Contact: Roger Nyhus, Governor’s Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact: Ed Penhale, Office of Financial Management, 360-902-0619
With advice from the private sector, Locke and his budget writers are deeply involved in a new budgeting strategy called Priorities of Government, which identifies the top priorities of state government and focuses spending on getting the highest return on investments in those areas.
“For more than two months, we have been engaged in a disciplined and creative new approach to writing a state spending plan for the next biennium that I believe will deliver the results that matter most to Washington citizens,’’ Locke said. “We are focusing on results that people want and need, prioritizing those results, and funding those results with the money we have.”
The governor’s Priorities of Government budget process has identified 10 goals all state spending should be measured against. The goals are to:
· Improve student achievement in elementary, middle and high schools
· Improve the quality and productivity of our workforce
· Improve the value of a state college or university education
· Improve the health of Washington citizens
· Improve the security of Washington’s vulnerable children and adults
· Improve economic vitality of businesses and individuals
· Improve statewide mobility of people, goods, information and energy
· Improve the safety of people and property
· Improve the quality of Washington’s natural resources
· Improve cultural and recreational opportunities throughout the state
The governor said the new approach will result in a proposed 2003-2005 General Fund budget that pays for a clear set of results that citizens expect from state government and reprioritizes state spending to focus on services that matter most in achieving those goals.
Since August, 10 “results teams” of state employees from across agencies have studied and hammered out reorganization and spending strategies that:
· View state government as a single enterprise;
· Achieve results, at less cost, through creative budget solutions; and
· Reprioritize spending, eliminating programs or consolidating similar activities in different agencies.
“We are taking an enterprise-wide approach,” Locke said. “We are thinking of our state government and all its agencies as a whole. We’re figuring out how our enterprise, working as one entity, can achieve the results that matter most to our state’s citizens.”
With advice from a “guidance team” of state government and business leaders, the results teams forged a strategy for a proposed two-year budget that crosses traditional agency lines in an effort to achieve specific goals to serve Washington taxpayers at less cost.
“This process departs from the traditional approach of cutting or adding to an existing budget. We want the result to be a state budget that citizens can look at and say, ‘Yes, if nothing else, those are things the government must pay for,’” said Marty Brown, the governor’s budget director.
The results teams worked within the current state revenue forecast for the 2003-2005 biennium. In consultation with the guidance team, their charge was to identify core services and the best way to deliver them to meet specific identified goals.
Locke and his Office of Financial Management budget writers are using the team results to write a new budget, which the governor will announce on Dec. 17.
Like 46 other states with significant deficits relating to the national recession, Washington has an anticipated $2 billion shortfall in the upcoming 2003-2005 budget.
“Unfortunately, there will be substantial cuts to important programs in the budget proposal we send to the Legislature in December,” Locke said. “But I’m determined to deliver a budget that reflects the realities of our current economy and still funds services and programs that are vital to Washington citizens.”
Related Links:
- Governor's Web site
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 14, 2002
Contact: Roger Nyhus, Governor’s Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact: Ed Penhale, Office of Financial Management, 360-902-0619
Gov. Gary Locke Announces ‘Priorities of Government’ Strategy for Lean, Results-Oriented State Budget
Gov. Gary Locke today announced an innovative strategy for developing a lean state budget that addresses the state’s $2 billion budget deficit and focuses spending on results that matter most to Washington citizens.With advice from the private sector, Locke and his budget writers are deeply involved in a new budgeting strategy called Priorities of Government, which identifies the top priorities of state government and focuses spending on getting the highest return on investments in those areas.
“For more than two months, we have been engaged in a disciplined and creative new approach to writing a state spending plan for the next biennium that I believe will deliver the results that matter most to Washington citizens,’’ Locke said. “We are focusing on results that people want and need, prioritizing those results, and funding those results with the money we have.”
The governor’s Priorities of Government budget process has identified 10 goals all state spending should be measured against. The goals are to:
· Improve student achievement in elementary, middle and high schools
· Improve the quality and productivity of our workforce
· Improve the value of a state college or university education
· Improve the health of Washington citizens
· Improve the security of Washington’s vulnerable children and adults
· Improve economic vitality of businesses and individuals
· Improve statewide mobility of people, goods, information and energy
· Improve the safety of people and property
· Improve the quality of Washington’s natural resources
· Improve cultural and recreational opportunities throughout the state
The governor said the new approach will result in a proposed 2003-2005 General Fund budget that pays for a clear set of results that citizens expect from state government and reprioritizes state spending to focus on services that matter most in achieving those goals.
Since August, 10 “results teams” of state employees from across agencies have studied and hammered out reorganization and spending strategies that:
· View state government as a single enterprise;
· Achieve results, at less cost, through creative budget solutions; and
· Reprioritize spending, eliminating programs or consolidating similar activities in different agencies.
“We are taking an enterprise-wide approach,” Locke said. “We are thinking of our state government and all its agencies as a whole. We’re figuring out how our enterprise, working as one entity, can achieve the results that matter most to our state’s citizens.”
With advice from a “guidance team” of state government and business leaders, the results teams forged a strategy for a proposed two-year budget that crosses traditional agency lines in an effort to achieve specific goals to serve Washington taxpayers at less cost.
“This process departs from the traditional approach of cutting or adding to an existing budget. We want the result to be a state budget that citizens can look at and say, ‘Yes, if nothing else, those are things the government must pay for,’” said Marty Brown, the governor’s budget director.
The results teams worked within the current state revenue forecast for the 2003-2005 biennium. In consultation with the guidance team, their charge was to identify core services and the best way to deliver them to meet specific identified goals.
Locke and his Office of Financial Management budget writers are using the team results to write a new budget, which the governor will announce on Dec. 17.
Like 46 other states with significant deficits relating to the national recession, Washington has an anticipated $2 billion shortfall in the upcoming 2003-2005 budget.
“Unfortunately, there will be substantial cuts to important programs in the budget proposal we send to the Legislature in December,” Locke said. “But I’m determined to deliver a budget that reflects the realities of our current economy and still funds services and programs that are vital to Washington citizens.”
Related Links:
- Governor's Web site
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