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StumbleMergers, program cuts recommended to trim state budget
Friday, Oct. 29, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
CARSON CITY — Merging agencies, shifting programs to local government and cutting benefits to low-income residents are among proposals to save millions of dollars as the state faces a financial crunch.
The fiscal staff of the Legislature on Thursday outlined more than 20 ideas for efficiencies and savings in the upcoming budget.
State agencies have produced initial budgets with 10 percent reductions.
The legislative financial division has additional suggestions the 2011 session might consider.
For example, the Legislature might consolidate the state Commission on Tourism with the Commission on Economic Development at a biennial savings of close to $400,000.
The state could save $10 million by eliminating 73 parole and probation officers who perform investigations for pre-sentence reports to district judges on convicted persons.
The assumption is that the district courts would absorb the costs, according to the budget report presented by fiscal analyst Mark Krmpotic.
The report to the Legislative Committee on Review of Base Budgets of State Agencies said the state might tighten the eligibility standards on senior citizens who receive property tax rebates.
It might want to give refunds only to seniors below the federal poverty level, the report said. About 77 percent of those who received refunds were above the poverty level, and changing qualifications could save $6 million over the next two fiscal years.
The state Department of Health and Human Services has recommended eliminating program services to 16,000 senior citizens at a savings of more than $12 million.
Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, expected to be head of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee in the 2011 Legislature, suggested examining the use of cell phones by state workers and whether the phones are needed in some cases.
Smith, D-Sparks, also said an examination will be made of state contracts with private consulting firms.
Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said a performance audit of the four-day work week in Utah showed the savings were “really overstated.” He said, “We must bear that in mind” when considering making changes in Nevada’s government.
State workers already are taking one unpaid furlough day off a month as a cost-cutting measure.
Another suggestion from the legislative staff was the elimination of the Family-to-Family program that helps parents with young children. That would save $2.4 million over the biennium and is also being recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Legislature might review the functions of the state fire marshal and shift some of those functions, such as arson investigation, building inspections and plan reviews, to local government, the report says. That could save $1.2 million a year.
An estimated $4 million to $6 million could be saved over the biennium by closing some prison honor camps or correctional centers. An increase in inmates has slowed, said the fiscal staff. It appears “the state could close multiple minimum-custody facilities without risk of running out of bed space for inmates,” the fiscal staff said.
Krmpotic said he did not want to single out any prison but mentioned Casa Grande Transitional Center in Las Vegas as one that could be shut down.
Howard Skolnik, director of the Department of Corrections, has recommended in his upcoming budget the closure of the Nevada State Prison in Carson City at an estimated savings of $9 million a year.
Discussion: 7 comments so far…
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Hey Sun, thought the economy was coming back? Why are we merging agencies and cutting programs?
The morally challenged Right-Wing TeaBags, or at least the folks FUNDING the TeaBags, are USING the Big Recession to TRIM TO THE BONE all of the social safety nets that have been set in place over the past hundred years or so...
WHY???
Sheer, unadulterated GREED.
Dismantling the Middle-Class is another biggie for the TeaBags... another clueless, mindless fleecing
by the Greedster's...
Un Poco Problemo, there, greedsters...
WHO'S GONNA BUY YOUR JUNK NOW???
"The state could save $10 million by eliminating 73 parole and probation officers who perform investigations for pre-sentence reports to district judges on convicted persons.
"The assumption is that the district courts would absorb the costs, according to the budget report presented by fiscal analyst Mark Krmpotic."
Right -- then the courts would increase their fees accordingly, which would put access to justice further out of reach of ordinary people seeking it. And that would make that old adage a reality -- "you only get as much justice as you can afford."
Perhaps all legislators should review their oaths of office about supporting and upholding the Constitutions with emphasis on the promises of leaving individuals alone unless he first crosses the line into legitimate public interest -- i.e., committing a true crime (actual injury to another). Instead government at every level has become predatory upon the very people it was formed to serve, actively on the hunt to engage every one of us to justify its existence.
"...our sense of fair play which dictates a fair state-individual balance by requiring the government to leave the individual alone until good cause is shown for disturbing him and by requiring the government in its contest with the individual to shoulder the entire load..." -- Murphy v. Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, 378 U.S. 52, 55 (1964)
Eliminate Forestry Nurseries (we don't need it, we already have private sector plant nurseries) $1.9 million.
Use private management for state parks - $12 million plus a cut of ticket sales = new revenue.
Reduce free teeth cleanings from 4 to 2. Increase copays for HMO plan to $50. - Savings unknown probably $1-3 million.
Eliminate health insurance subsidy for retired government pensioners - savings up to $75 million plus the elimination of a $4 billion unfunded liability.
Put a moratorium on new public school construction, allowing districts to expand ONLY with charter schools (privately run public schools whose construction cost is privately financed).
Create a tuition-tax credit program that allows individuals and corporations to make donations to scholarship organizations to fund scholarships for all kids to attend private schools. Savings up to $1.4 billion in the programs first 10 years.
Lease I-80 and I-15 to private companies for management. Revenue generated in the sale could exceed $2 billion. Plus we take highway maintenance off the books (maybe $120 million in savings, not sure, actual budget expenditures hard to find) and we can reduce the gas tax as a result.
Use competitive sourcing - private sector bids against public sector to provide state services. Florida saved $5.5 billion in the last 10 years.
Use priority based budgeting (state sets priorities and goals and how much it is willing to pay for the service, agencies failing to meet goals DO NOT GET MORE MONEY in the next year) - not this backward baseline budgeting where the state treats our money as an entitlement. Washington saved $2 billion using this method.
Gmag,
If government is cut to the bone, then why haven't we actually been cutting back salaries and benefits? Why are we doing this furlough nonsense? (answer so employees can keep pay raises and step increases when the economy recovers).
Why are municipalities building a stupid Mob Museum? Why are they funding golf courses for rich white guys? Why are we going after high speed rail - one of the biggest wastes of money in human history. We haven't cut to the bone because government is inefficient and ineffective at its job.
Year after year it takes them more money and more workers to do less for the people of Nevada. This has to stop.
Outlaw government worker seniority privileges at all levels of government. No longer will longevity be an excuse for incompetence. This will allow agencies to terminate any employee that doesn't pull their weight.
Outlaw cost of living adjustments. No one in the private sector gets a cost of living adjustment - that comes out of your pay raise which you may, or may not, get from year to year.
Outlaw binding arbitration for government worker unions. They should no longer be allowed to twist taxpayer arms to fund their lavish lifestyle when we can't afford it.
Replace the defined benefit pension with a defined contribution plan, like a 401k. Nevadans should not have to bear the burden of unsustainable public sector greed.
Patrick,
Our insurance deductables were nearly doubled last year. Mine have went from $130 when I started to $255 now. Yes, that is a nearly a hundred percent increase. Meanwhile the benefits associated continue to erode and are now comparable or possibly worse than the private sector insurance that I had before I started. The days of criticizing government benefits due to being so lavish are over. I remember when it was assumed that all government employees had outstanding medical which they paid NOTHING for. Those days are gone. On another note, our contributions towards PERS are now 4 percent higher than when I started. State workers do not have contracts which absorb those increased costs, it comes out of our paychecks. The furloughs have saved the state 500 million to this point. I think that is pretty damn good considering what all other government agencies have done. Four cleanings will be two next year, we have already been told that so you can stop with that one.
When everyone else was making 100k per year with their GED's, I was sitting in my stable job making 50k with my college degree. Now, people want to come after my 50k and benefits. No one wanted to pipe up when it was good, just when things go down the tank. Exactly why I went into government in the first place. It makes me want to puke.
So figure all of that up. My paychecks are significantly lower that a few years ago. Way over 10 percent lower if you figure in costs and furloughs. We have been doing this almost two and a half years unlike counties and cities who have just begun to take cuts. I am not even talking about no step raises or any raise whatsoever. That would be another 10 or 12 percent lost if you looked at that. So, as much as you complain, the overall picture shows we are doing our part in this crisis.
I don't think you understand your health benefits http://www.pebp.state.nv.us/FastFactsAct...
You must be on the PPO HSA plan not the HMO plan. All government workers should be on an HSA style plan, in my opinion and this one looks pretty generous too.
Underneath the furloughs you're keeping those pay increases when we should have rolled back cost of living pay increases as the cuts first - not cut back worker hours (and thus our service to the people). The point of furloughs is to avoid actual cuts in salary figures on paper - that way soon to be retired people can maximize their pension and continuing workers can continue moving up the scale without real interruption. Furloughs save money, but its just a short term budget trick.
It's true, maybe government workers are enriched beyond what the system can sustain. But, the reckless hatchet solutions presented by some of the posters here are not appropriate.
I don't want the high employee turnover rate seen in the private sector to be the model for government. Public service requires a stable workforce. I do not want the employee base to change everytime the political side changes.
In order to do that, it requires what most of us want from our private sector jobs, but do not get. In some cases, private sector employees are jealous and lash out. I understand that, but I am not willing to dismantle my government because you are upset.
We need to strike a balance for sure. The taxpayers have to have a governemnt that can be sustained, but it does not have to look like the private business model. That is completely insane.
The story of American spending http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MQ2pk7kk...
get pumped to vote all the bums out... it is time to change our government.
Oh goodie! Please, please take away the tax break to Teabagging Seniors who hate gubbermint unless it lines their pocket!
Can we get Ms. Smith to explain to us WHY DHHS pays IT contractors $200 and up PER HOUR to sit in Administrative Staff Meetings? They are not employees, not management, and should not need to sit in on these endless meetings. The same IT contractors that "programmed" or built the computer programs are paid extensively to "maintain" and "refine" their programs--what no guarantee that there programs will function reasonably well, as contracted? Why are the same Administrators, Deputy Administrators and Managers in place year after year when they cannot get reasonably good results?
Patrick,
Why doesn't your website put up a petiton to stop things like binding arbitration so we can sign it and get it to the legislature?
I agree with most of your points,but the time for talking is done,and the time for action is here.
Liberal Democrats have no compassion...
"Oh goodie! Please, please take away the tax break to Teabagging Seniors who hate gubbermint unless it lines their pocket!"