Editorial: Budgeting to require innovation

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1998 | 11:52 a.m.

Gov. Bob Miller told state agency chiefs earlier this year to be conservative when drafting their proposed 1999-2001 spending programs because state tax revenues collected weren't keeping pace with projections. It doesn't appear, however, that many state agencies were listening to the lame duck governor.

The Sun's Cy Ryan reported Friday that the agencies are requesting $4.1 billion in spending over the next two years, a 41 percent increase. State Budget Director Perry Comeaux said he may have to reduce the total agency requests by $800 million to $900 million, a substantial reduction, to say the least.

Despite the enormous difference between the wish lists and reality, it's not as if this is anything new. In previous budget cycles Miller has sent out the word for agencies to submit lean budgets only to have these same agencies ask for larger budgets -- the result of each agency administrator believing that his programs were more important than the next guy's. Gov.-elect Kenny Guinn, as Miller did before him, will have to decide which agency wish lists will have to be pared in his budget proposed to the 1999 Legislature.

And Guinn will soon find out how much money he will have when the Economic Forum makes its final tax revenue forecast in a few weeks. The governor has to follow the predictions of this group, which is made up of five layman and -women, in building his budget.

Because Guinn likely will have to put together an austere budget to meet an uncertain future, it's important that his budget team proceeds sensibly. Priorities should be made as to which programs are most valuable, with an eye toward keeping them as wholly intact as possible. For example, the cornerstone of the budget should be public education in grades K-12. To offset the savings needed to preserve K-12 education, and to fund essentially needed new programs elsewhere in funding government, Guinn may have to substantially cut other, less important, agencies.

One agency that definitely deserves more funding is the state's Nuclear Waste Projects Office, which monitors the federal government's study of Yucca Mountain as a possible site for disposing of this nation's high-level nuclear waste. In an attempt to gut its effectiveness, this important agency has seen Congress and the Department of Energy whittle away the federal funding of its budget. Miller believes $3.6 million in state funds should go to this watchdog agency (in the past the state only chipped in about $50,000, with the federal government paying the rest), a proposal that Guinn should adopt.

He hasn't even been sworn in yet, but Guinn already is facing some tough decisions that could have a huge impact on this state's future. Guinn will need to call on all the skills he acquired as superintendent of the Clark County School District and as president of UNLV to submit a visionary budget grounded in common sense, to get the state through what could be some difficult financial times ahead.