 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Audit
of State's Budget Paved Way for San Diego Citizens' Budget Project
The San Diego Citizens' Budget Project is not the first time
that The Performance Institute has led a bold initiative for fundamental
change.
On April 30, 2003, as the California state government sat mired in partisan deadlock over what to do about the most severe fiscal crisis in its history, The Performance Institute released a 10-point California Citizens' Budget Plan to balance the state's budget through comprehensive reforms. The California Citizens' Budget Plan was ignored by then-Governor Gray Davis and the deadlocked legislature – which could think only in "either/or" terms of tax increases and draconian program cuts.
The people of California knew better – and support for the reform agenda articulated in the California Citizens' Budget Plan grew through the summer as editorial boards and civic associations endorsed the grassroots plan. In the recall, fiscal reform was made the driving issue and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom McClintock, Bill Simon, and Peter Ueberroth all endorsed the reforms outlined by the California Citizens' Budget Plan. With the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the reforms articulated in the California Citizens' Budget Plan are now being implemented.
|
||||||||
California Citizens'
Budget Project
San Jose Mercury-News: State reform
plan bears tech imprint
Sacramento Bee: California's state
workforce won't be shrinking
Orange County Register: State
of California, Inc.
Los Angeles Times: Sacramento
Finds Small Savings Count Now
Los Angeles Daily News: State
May Pay Now to Save Later
Sacramento Bee: Missing at State
Level – Creativity, specific goals
Union-Tribune: New Budget Plan Takes
Three Steps Back, None Forward
Orange County Register: A Ready-Made
Budget for Would-Be Governors
Los Angeles Times: Massive Loan
for State Weighted
Orange County Register: 18
Californians Worth Listening To
Sacramento Bee: Should Schwarzenegger
'Blow Up' Boxes?
Roadmap to Reform by
Carl DeMaio, George Passantino, Bill Baker,
Kathleen Connell, Matt
Fong, Bill Jones, and Lucy Killea
|
||||||||
| Side-by-Side
Comparisons |
|
| TIE
DEFICIT FINANCING TO REAL BUDGET REFORM |
|
"Based on where the various parties are in their positions today, a ten-year $15 billion bond would be required at the least to bridge the gap. Debt servicing on the bond would begin immediately and would burden future budget cycles. The loan would be enough to transition past the present crisis along with long-term constitutional changes necessary to impose discipline on Sacramento." - California Citizens' Budget, April 30, 2003 |
"Schwarzenegger Outlines Plan to Handle California Deficit: On Tuesday, his first full day as governor, Mr. Schwarzenegger offered a glimpse of his strategy. He intends to have the state borrow up to $15 billion to cover most of the existing deficit and impose a constitutional spending cap to avoid future overspending." - The New York Times, November 19, 2003 |
| REORGANIZE
AND STREAMLINE STATE GOVERNMENT |
|
"By consolidating similar programs into one agency, significant overhead cost savings can be achieved. Finally, the Citizens' Budget suggests that 'advisory' Commissions and Boards be eliminated and that 'policy-making' boards be placed under one of the seven departments created in the reorganization plan." - California Citizens' Budget, April 30, 2003 |
"Every governor proposes moving boxes around to reorganize government. I don't want to move boxes around; I want to blow them up. We have multiple departments with overlapping responsibilities. I say consolidate them." - Governor Schwarzenegger’s State of the State Address, Jan. 6, 2004 |
| TAKE
A PERFORMANCE-BASED APPROACH TO REFORM |
|
"The Citizens' Budget lays out the case for using performance-based criteria for the review of the state's expenditures - resulting in cost savings and protection of key quality-of-life programs. For the immediate challenge, the Governor and legislature should require each agency to submit a performance budget by June 15th based on a series of questions relating to the relevance, performance and management of each of its programs. Regardless of the assessment approach the state takes, a program-by-program approach to spending reductions has to be conducted - with performance at the heart of each assessment." - California Citizens' Budget, April 30, 2003 |
"There shall be created the California Performance Review to conduct a focused examination of California state government. Based on this examination and assessment, the Performance Review will formulate and recommend practical changes to government agencies, programs and operations to reduce total costs of government operations, increase productivity, improve services and make government more responsive and accountable to the public." - Governor Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order S-5-04 |