|
|
|
|
| B- | Ohio |
• Population (rank): 11,478,006 (7)
• Average per capita income (rank): $23,543 (28)
• Total state spending (rank): $64,928,716,000 (5)
• Spending per capita (rank): $5,657 (16)
• Governor: Ted Strickland (D)
• First elected: 11/2006
• Senate: 33 members: 12 D, 21 R
• Term limits: 8 years (consecutive)
• House: 99 members: 46 D, 53 R
• Term limits: 8 years (consecutive)
When the Ohio House and Senate both passed the state budget unanimously last year, it was the first time that had happened since the 1920s. The calm in Columbus was all the more surprising because, with a newly elected Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature, Ohio had a divided government for the first time in more than a decade.
The universal unpopularity of former Governor Bob Taft — he left office at the end of 2006 with an approval rating in the single digits — certainly was a factor that encouraged state leaders of both parties to push for a new climate. But, to their credit, they didn't do this by throwing out Taft's positive management initiatives.
For example, incoming Governor Ted Strickland followed through on his predecessor's plans for a phased replacement of the obsolete corporate franchise and tangible personal property taxes with a single commercial activity tax. This fix won't pay immediate dividends, but fiscal analysts believe it could help make Ohio competitive for new business and lift the economy out of its Rust Belt slide. Strickland also persisted in and expanded upon Taft's badly needed campaign to renovate the state's school buildings and build new ones.
The rest of Strickland's Turnaround Ohio vision is new. Flexible Performance Agreements between the governor and agency heads drive the state toward specific, measurable goals. The Advantage Ohio partnership of public officials and private leaders will eliminate redundant and contradictory regulations. Quarterly reviews and a publicly available scorecard will let citizens know more about how the state is doing. These strategic mechanisms will depend on more accurate numbers than have been available in the past. A new Administrative Knowledge System came on line in July 2007 and, despite a regrettable data theft, the system has been a success so far.
Other aspects of Ohio's governmental life aren't going so well. In Strickland's first budget, the Department of Corrections needed to cut 25 percent from facilities operations and maintenance — a risk in a system already functioning at 129 percent of capacity. The Division of Children and Families lost some administrative funding for information technology just as its new Web-based child welfare system came on line. As a whole, the state budget is showing a two-year revenue shortfall of between $733 million and $1.9 billion.
That big range is indicative of the shortage of precise numbers in the state. Ohio has no comprehensive data on deferred building maintenance, for example. The Department of Corrections doesn't track employee turnover and job vacancy rates. When Ohio does have data about state programs and performance available, it's generally good at sharing that information with the public via the Web. Just be careful if you want to send an e-mail: You'll have to fight your way through one of the most complicated sets of domain names among the states — a different one for each agency.
For the ambitious Turnaround Ohio plan to have a chance at success, Ohio needs to invest in human capital planning, for starters. The coming wave of retirements among state employees demands that it put in place strategies for both replacing them and retaining what they know about how agencies work. A knowledge-management system the state is developing will likely help some. But an old-school, rigid relationship with labor unions — and the resulting Byzantine employee classification system — may impede necessary change.
For additional data and analysis, go to pewcenteronthestates.org/gpp.