Richmond Times Dispatch Editorial - State Closes the Books on Tough Fiscal Year

RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH (VIRGINIA)

HEADLINE: STATE CLOSES THE BOOKS ON TOUGH FISCAL YEAR

BYLINE: Mark Warner, Mark Warner is the Governor of Virginia.,

BODY:
Today, Virginia will close the books on a tough fiscal year, one that has seen severe cuts in services, sustained sluggishness in our economy, and
continued uncertainty over the nation's economic future.    From one end of
the nation to the other, states have grappled with budget shortfalls totaling some $80 billion.

Despite the challenges of the past year, the Commonwealth has not stood still or been content only to "manage" the current crisis. Instead, we've embarked on a series of sweeping reforms to state government that will improve the efficiency of vital services and give taxpayers a better return on their investment. At the same time, we've launched exciting new initiatives in education, reached the 80-percent enrollment mark in our state health insurance program for children, won passage of a $900-million higher education bond package, and leveraged state resources to create more than 43,000 new jobs.

REFORM HAS been at the heart of our agenda. Tomorrow, July 1, new laws will take effect to streamline several areas of state government, ranging from water policy and mental health services delivery to the budget and veterans' services.

The most important such reform will be in the area of information technology, a $900-million annual enterprise that is now administered separately across each of the 91 agencies in state government. Our reform will consolidate information technology into one agency, saving millions of dollars each year that can be reinvested in other vital areas.

We are also implementing reforms in how the state buys goods and services. Virginia's electronic commerce program, known as eVA, was recently recognized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as one of the best, most innovative practices in digital government anywhere in the nation. The Virginia Department of Transportation continues its complete turnaround under the leadership of Commissioner Phillip Shucet, who has won near universal praise for restoring professionalism and accountability to Virginia's highway program. Major highway projects such as Pinners Point and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge are now on-time and on-budget, and citizens can quickly determine the status of major projects under VDOT's new "Project Dashboard." We have achieved these things with a state workforce that has 4,200 fewer full-time positions than when I took office, and while closing a $6-billion shortfall.

BEYOND REFORMING state government, Virginia has moved forward to create new educational and economic opportunities for our people. The Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS) represents a new approach to matching the demands of accountability with the resources necessary actually to improve student achievement. We have moved pro- actively to help students who are at risk of failing to pass the SOL tests needed for graduation from high school next year, a move that hopefully will help the state avert the kind of problems faced by other states. Project Graduation will utilize summer academies, online tutorials, and distance learning to get the help they need to graduate on time.

When I was in the private sector, one of the lessons I learned was that successful firms use tough economic times to re-examine everything they're doing. They find new ways to lower costs, streamline operations, and restructure management. Usually it's the firms that deal with tough times in this kind of aggressive manner that emerge from lean times stronger than ever before.

This is the course we're pursuing for Virginia. And while I would prefer to be closing the books on a year of unchecked economic growth, I am pleased that we've seized this unique point in our Commonwealth's history to bring about lasting reforms.