"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance

 and a people who mean to be their own governors

 must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Giving New Jersey’s Budget Their BEST

We can just imagine the folks in Trenton working on Acting Governor Codey’s budget proposal for New Jersey – looking for anything to close the $4 billion budget gap. Developing the budget in our state must be an extremely difficult task, because strategic planning in New Jersey is almost non-existent.

The state does not have a statewide strategic plan and there is limited agency planning. There is little evidence of a state and agency-wide formal process to produce and use performance and cost information during the budgeting process. So lacking any plan, costing models or data to evaluate program effectiveness, we guess they just “wing it”. Little wonder New Jersey is in such a fiscal mess.

That reminds us, what ever happened to the BEST commission? In FY 2003, Trenton appropriated $250,000 for the Budget Efficiency Savings Team (BEST). This commission was established by Executive Order No. 2 of 2002 to undertake a “complete comprehensive and thorough examination of all aspects of the state’s spending practices to identify areas of waste, mismanagement, abuse, and unnecessary spending.”

The BEST Commission was supposed to provide the Governor with a list of recommendations and was supposed to issue a final report of its findings. So far, no report has been issued and this is not the only report the New Jersey's executive branch has failed to prepare over the years.

It makes you wonder what became of BEST and their report. Was the $250,000 spent? Was the report completed but, the findings just too embarrassing to be shown to the public? Was a decision made not to undertake the project because its mission wasn’t a priority to the leaders in Trenton?

Can you believe McGreevey and company raised state spending by double digits after writing this document.

WHEREAS, the State is confronting a severe fiscal crisis caused by a pattern of profligate spending and irresponsible borrowing practices;

WHEREAS, these fiscal practices have been exacerbated by increasing statutory spending obligations and declining tax revenues;

WHEREAS, the State has heretofore failed, even in the face of mounting evidence that the State would confront tremendous and debilitating budget deficits in Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004, to implement timely remedial actions such as implementing significant budget freezes, cutting costs and ending unnecessary discretionary spending.

WHEREAS, the denial of the magnitude of the fiscal problems confronting the State and the consequent failure to take sufficient and timely corrective actions have placed the State in fiscal jeopardy, causing the leading rating agencies to downgrade New Jersey's creditworthiness;

WHEREAS, the unprecedented scope of the fiscal dilemma has impaired and will impair the ability of the State to provide necessary programs to its citizens;

WHEREAS, as Governor, I have a responsibility to ensure a balanced budget, manage the operations of State Government effectively and efficiently, and maintain necessary government programs and assistance to the public;

WHEREAS, N.J. Const. (1947), Art. VIII, §II, ¶2, requires that State government expenditures do not exceed available State revenues....



1 Comments:

At 8:15 AM, Anonymous Rodger said...

I saw so much useful data in this post!
Beef Shreds With Green Pepper

 

Post a Comment

<< Home


 Contact Us

  • Email Us
  • Blog Roll Us!

    Search

    Syndication

  • Atom Feed
  • Bloglines
  • Feedburner
  • Feedster
  • Add to Google
  • Add to My MSN
  • Add to My Yahoo
  • News Is Free

    Recent Posts

  • New Jersey Teacher and Police Officer Busted For G...
  • Will The Honest Democrats Please Come Forward
  • Codey Can Solve The Budget Crisis If He has The Guts
  • Life Discovered On Mars – Well, Not Exactly
  • Property Tax Rebates In Jeopardy
  • Chemist Death At NJ Water Treatment Plant Ruled a ...
  • Corzine News Brieflet # 11
  • New Jersey Muslim Group Seeks Tolerance
  • The Other John Running For Governor – John Murphy
  • Forrester Calls For Immediate Investigation Into N...

    Archives

  • November 2004
  • December 2004
  • January 2005
  • February 2005
  • March 2005
  • April 2005
  • May 2005
  • June 2005
  • July 2005
  • August 2005
  • September 2005
  • October 2005
  • November 2005
  • December 2005
  • January 2006
  • February 2006
  • March 2006
  • April 2006
  • May 2006
  • June 2006
  • July 2006
  • August 2006
  • September 2006
  • October 2006
  • November 2006
  • December 2006
  • January 2007
  • February 2007
  • March 2007
  • April 2007
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • November 2007
  • December 2007
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • April 2008
  • November 2008
  • January 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • February 2012

    Online Journals

  • National Review

  • Opinion Journal

  • Real Clear Politics

  • Weekly Standard


  • Blog Roll

  • A Blog For All
  • Althouse
  • Ankle Biting Pundits
  • Barista of Bloomfield Avenue
  • Betsy's Page
  • Blue Crab Boulevard
  • Blogs For Condi
  • Bob the Corgi
  • Brainster's Blog
  • BuzzMachine
  • Captain's Quarter's
  • Cinnaman
  • Coalition of the Swilling
  • CWA-NJ
  • Dino's Forum
  • Daily Mail
  • Don Surber
  • DynamoBuzz
  • eCache
  • Exit 4
  • Fausta's Blog
  • GOP Bloggers
  • Instapundit
  • Joe's Journal
  • Kate Spot
  • Kausfiles.com
  • Little Green Footballs
  • Michelle Malkin
  • More Mnmouth Musings
  • Parkway Rest Stop
  • Patrick Ruffini
  • Polipundit
  • Power Line
  • Right Wing News
  • Roger L. Simon
  • The Blue State Conservatives
  • Riehl World View
  • Red Jersey
  • Right, Wing-Nut!
  • Sid in the City
  • Tiger Hawk
  • The Truth Laid Bear
  • Tim Blair
  • Wizbang


  • Sid in the City



    Majority Accountability Project

    MAP

    New Jersey Blogs

    Enlighten-Carnival-small

  • 11th and Washington


  • A Blog For All
  • A Planet Where Apes Evolved From Man?!?
  • Armies of Liberation
  • Atlantic Highland Muse
  • Attack of the 15.24 Mete


  • Barista of Bloomfield Avenue
  • BeLow Me
  • Big Windbag
  • Blanton's and Ashton's
  • Blue State Conservatives
  • Burning Feathers
  • BuzzMachine


  • Clifton Blogs
  • Coalition of the Swilling
  • Cobweb Studios
  • CoffeeGrounds
  • Constitutional Conservative
  • Confessions of a Jersey Goddess
  • Corzine Watch
  • Crazy Jackie
  • Cresting Acrocorinthus
  • Cripes, Suzette!


  • Daniella's Misadventures
  • Did I Say That Out Loud
  • Dojo Mojo
  • Dossy's Blog
  • Down the Shore
  • DynamoBuzz


  • eCache
  • Enlighten-NewJersey
  • Eye On Hoboken
  • Exit 4
  • Exit Zero
  • Extreme-Psychosis


  • Fausta's Blog
  • Fausti's Book Quest
  • Fractals of Change
  • Frenchtown NJ Blog


  • GiggleChick
  • Gregg Gethard's Amazing Personal Journey
  • goethe re scape


  • Hoboken Rock City


  • IamBillPower
  • If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawn-mower
  • Imaginary Therapy
  • Inadmissible Evidence
  • INCITE


  • Jersey Beat
  • Jersey Perspective
  • Jersey Side
  • Jersey Style
  • Jersey Writers
  • Joe's Journal


  • Karl's Corner
  • Kate Spot


  • Laughing At The Pieces
  • Likelihood of Confusion
  • Liss Is More


  • Mamacita
  • Mary's Lame Attempt at Fame
  • Media in Trouble
  • Michael Carroll
  • Mister Snitch!
  • MucknMire
  • My Life as a Rabid Blog
  • My New Jersey


  • New Jersey Eminent Domain Law
  • NJ Conservative
  • NJ Fiscal Folly
  • New Jersey For Change
  • New Jersey Weblogs
  • NJ Spoken Word
  • Northeast Corridor


  • Parkway Rest Stop
  • Philly2Hoboken.com
  • Poetic Leanings
  • Poor Impulse Control
  • Professor Kim's News Notes
  • Property Tax NJ


  • Rain Angel
  • Riehl World View


  • Shamrocketship
  • Shipwrecks
  • SloppyDawg
  • Sluggo Needs a Nap
  • SmadaNeK
  • Static Silence


  • Tami,The One True
  • Tammany on the Hudson
  • Tequila Shots For The Soul
  • The Art of Getting By
  • The Center of New Jersey Life
  • The Daily Fry
  • The Duc Pond
  • The Jersey Shore Real Estate Bubble
  • The Joy of Soup
  • The Mark(ings) of Zorro
  • The New Wisdom
  • The Nightfly
  • The Opinion Mill
  • The Pink Panther
  • The Political Dogs
  • The Rix Mix
  • This Full House
  • Tiger Hawk
  • Tomato Nation
  • Toxiclabrat
  • Twisty


  • Unbillable Hours
  • Usdin.Net


  • Where Is The Remote
  • Wine Goddess


  • Xpatriated Texan


  • Links

  • NJ Governor
  • NJ Legislature
  • GOP GOTV
  • Bob Menendez Information


  • Blog Rings

  • Blog Explosion
  • Blog Directory
  • Blogsnow
  • Blogwise
  • Blogstreet
  • Blogshares
  • Blogarama
  • Blog Digger
  • Daypop
  • Globe of Blogs
  • Blog Search Engine


  • Ecosystem Status


  • Who Links Here






  •