UL: Keeping taxes low key to 'NH Advantage'

[KBCraig]

State bureaucrat wants low taxes.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=John+A.+Stephen%3a+Low+spending+is+what+keeps+the+New+Hampshire+Advantage&articleId=d225faa6-0da2-4070-a760-dc6e7cdb48c2

John A. Stephen: Low spending is what keeps the New Hampshire Advantage

By JOHN A. STEPHEN

ONE OF MY first political memories was going with my father to the office of then-Governor Meldrim Thomson. I remember my dad pointing out the sign on Thomson's wall that read, "Low Taxes are the Result of Low Spending."

Those words are just as true and important now as they were more than 30 years ago.

That saying is essential to bear in mind as we begin a new budget season in New Hampshire. Very often, while campaigning, candidates will talk about how they intend to keep taxes down. Rarely do you hear them talk about how they plan to keep spending in check.

That's because cutting spending is hard. It's tough to tell someone who says that they need government money that they can't have it. And because programs always grow faster than the money coming from the taxpayers, it means difficult choices. Nobody wants to be the bad guy.

We see this all the time at the Department of Health and Human Services. My staff and I spent all summer scouring our budget for savings, looking for ways to cut our costs and protect the taxpayers of New Hampshire. We worked many long hours and identified millions of dollars in savings. We came up with innovative business strategies that will save another $22 million, such as contracting with medical providers for certain types of non-emergency procedures in bulk.

Yet, despite our efforts, with the increase in medical costs, estimated to be as high as 10 percent per year, and growth in people needing assistance, our budget request grows at approximately 5 percent per year to cover these services.

It is important to note, though, that, by state law, departments cannot reduce either eligibility or services for any program. Only the governor or the Legislature has that flexibility, so agencies have their hands tied in making significant spending reductions.

If 5 percent doesn't seem like a lot, it's because our department put in the type of work that must be done to keep spending low. At the same time, our budget also eliminates the waiting list for services for people with disabilities, who have to wait months or sometimes years, and sets up a substance abuse treatment program for people leaving prison, so they don't re-offend, while maintaining existing services.

However, even at 5 percent, with an agency the size of DHHS, that increase translates to an additional $138 million in new money from state taxpayers.

Everyone who is involved in writing the budget knows that this amount is high. If we are to keep our promises of low taxes, we must do more, and that means looking for further spending reductions.

That's why I was impressed to hear Gov. John Lynch say last week that he wanted to focus on our budget for further reductions. Two years ago, we offered the governor and his staff a number of proposals for spending decreases, and they only picked a small amount to put in his budget.

Thankfully, the Legislature added some of these savings initiatives in the final budget, providing the taxpayers with millions of dollars in relief.

Our department stands ready to work with anyone who wants to protect the taxpayers by holding spending in check. We have a proven track record of just that. Over the past three years, we have returned $120 million to the taxpayers, while at the same time closing more than $59 million in deficits. We have worked to spend taxpayer dollars as frugally as we would spend our own.

All of this has been accomplished while maintaining, and in many cases improving, the services we provide for people in need. For example, more seniors today are now able to receive needed care in the community, and not being forced to move into nursing homes. Furthermore, we have also upgraded our ability to respond to public health threats like Eastern Equine Encephalitis and the avian flu, where federal officials have said that New Hampshire is leading the way nationally. We are committed to maximizing value to taxpayers, but we will not sacrifice quality to do so.

Everyone wants low taxes. Without low spending, though, that becomes a pipe dream. That's critical here, because, unlike in Washington, we have to balance the state's budget. When it comes time to make the tough decisions to keep taxes low, and retain the New Hampshire Advantage, we need to come together.

DHHS is ready and willing to work with the governor and the Legislature to make the goal of low taxes a reality.

John A. Stephen is New Hampshire's Health and Human Services commissioner.

[Dave Ridley]

Lynch claims stephen's most recent budget request is way too high, a budget buster.

On the other hand stephen was probably right about GraniteCare, the program designed to get away from funding nursing home stays and move toward funding less expensive in-home care.   Not that the state should do either of course.