Citizens offered look at state’s next budget

OLYMPIA — Every two years, hordes of people descend on the state capitol, angling for a slice of the state’s multibillion-dollar budget.

For most, it’s like trying to view an elephant through a straw: each person sees a small part of the big picture. Judges want more money for computers and juries. State employees and teachers want raises. Nursing homes, rural hospitals and doctors want to be paid more for treating the poor.

State budget officials are now trying to get people to see the whole elephant. They’re holding town-hall meetings in Spokane and Seattle next week to lay out the state’s top priorities and hear what people think. Budget writers will soon begin working on the 2005-2007 budget.

“Usually, the only people we hear from are the lobbyists,” said Marty Brown, head of the Washington Office of Financial Management. “But this budget will be important, and we want to give regular citizens a chance to learn and be heard.”

Brown and other members of Gov. Gary Locke’s budget staff are trying to ensure that one of Locke’s biggest innovations remains in place after the governor leaves office in January.

Two years ago, as the recession bit deeply into the state treasury, Locke and his advisers pioneered a new way of deciding what the state can afford. Called “Priorities of Government,” it works much like a person’s household budget. State officials settle on a list of priorities, then allocate the money based on that. Priorities now include things like improving student achievement, making state workers more productive, improving safety and security and helping businesses thrive.

The approach sounds common-sense, but to government budget offices, “POG” was a major change. Typically, the easiest way for governments to budget is to look at what each department or agency got last year, then adjust those numbers a bit. Priorities of Government forced the state to rethink what it’s paying for, and why.

Since that first year, at least a dozen other states have asked how they can mimic Washington’s system. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration called. South Carolina flew a delegation to Olympia. Even the Toronto government called, peppering Brown’s staff with questions during a several-hour conference call.

Spokane’s city government is also interested in the idea. The City Council is scheduled to hold a briefing on the budget system today.

At the town-hall meetings in Spokane and Seattle, Brown and his staff will discuss how the state budgets and get feedback. They’ll ask whether people agree with the priorities, he said. If not, they’ll be asked what services or programs should be trimmed or eliminated.

“It’s partly to show people what their tax dollars go for,” Brown said, “and partly to see if our priorities are right.”

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Gonzaga Law School’s Barbieri Courtroom, 721 N. Cincinnati.