Gov. Chris Gregoire is inviting the public to help her make tough budget decisions for the next two years during a special public hearing from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Clark College’s Gaiser Hall.
The hearing, the third of four Gregoire has scheduled around the state, is designed to help her and her budget-writing staff get started on writing a spending plan for the 2011-13 budget cycle.
Even with revenue from new taxes on candy, soda, beer, bottled water and cigarettes approved by the 2010 Legislature, state economists project a budget deficit of about $3 billion by mid-2011. The new taxes are expected to add $761 million to state coffers by the end of 2011.
Members of a new Committee on Transforming Washington’s Budget, with leaders drawn from across the state, will attend the Vancouver event and listen to citizen comments. Gregoire has asked the panel to help her launch a new budgeting process that will require state agencies to evaluate spending proposals based on whether the money is needed to fund “essential services” of state government.
Under this process, agency heads will be asked a series of questions, including: “Does the state government have to perform the activity, or can it be provided by others?” and: “Are there more cost-effective, efficient ways to do the activity?” They’ll also be asked: “Can the activity be eliminated or delayed in recessionary times?”
“We are going to challenge every program in state government with a series of tough questions to ensure we are getting the best value and paying for the most essential functions of state government,” Gregoire said in a statement.
At her hearings around the state, Gregoire said she also wants to give citizens a clear picture of “the decisions that we face and the money that will be available to us” in the 2011-13 biennium.
She plans to present her proposed two-year budget to the Legislature in mid-December.
Attendance at two previous budget hearings, in Tacoma and Everett, have drawn audiences of 400 or more. For that reason, Gregoire’s staff decided to move the Vancouver event from Washington State University Vancouver to a larger venue at Clark College, said Schuyler Hoss, Gregoire’s Southwest Washington representative.
Members of the public who wish to testify will be asked to limit their comments to two minutes. Written testimony also will be accepted.
An Office of Financial Management website launched July 19 for those who wish to offer online comments on state spending already has received 14,700 visits from more than 10,000 separate viewers.
