It’s in the name of the commission: “streamlining.” So why would this body add another level of bureaucracy and more politicians to government decision-making?
Ironically, last week the Commission on Streamlining Government decided that the Legislature’s joint budget committee should sign off on any consulting contracts costing $50,000 or more. Bad idea.
First, I would bet that a majority of this legislative committee voted in favor of last year’s huge legislative pay raise. Remember? And the commission wants to put them—and their good judgment—in charge of protecting us taxpayers? I don’t think so. That’s like the fox guarding the hen house when you are talking about contracts of more than $50,000. Every one of these legislators will be wanting to take “credit” for approval with the firm getting the contract and then follow up with a call or an invitation to their next fundraiser. More Louisiana politics just got injected and our state’s image takes a hit. Not good. And, even worse, if one of the legislators has a good friend in the business who also wants the contract, there could be all sorts of politics going on behind the scenes, creating a free-for-all. And this is the solution the commission came up with to “streamline” government? It’s a joke, right?
It actually reminds me of our current situation with the Legislature having control over college tuition. This rule has tied the hands of colleges and should be revoked. Do you wonder why we are the only state in the nation that does this? It’s politics again.
These consulting contracts are similar to privatizing certain work outside of government. They could be due to a federal mandate, need for expertise not found in state government, or simply to get the job done right and on time—which in some cases can’t be done by incompetent and unmotivated state workers who are Civil Service and can’t be fired [and they know it]. It’s sad but true, and that’s what the commission should really be worrying about in order to streamline government—ending Civil Service.
Agencies seem to be getting mixed messages, first told to find ways to outsource and then challenged when they hire contractors. Outsourcing can save money because there are no state benefits paid for those employees, and, unlike Civil Service, if the job is not done right or on time, folks can be fired. Now that’s accountability.
While our state’s political past certainly has cases of abuse with contracts, one thing is new. The administration posted all current state contracts online two weeks ago for everyone—taxpayers and the press—to see. This will bring more accountability than any legislative committee.
Focusing on contract spending is a knee-jerk response that could hamper efforts to reduce costs and might end up causing agencies to hold on to unnecessary employees as a backup to do the job, in case their contract firm was turned down by the legislative committee. So much for streamlining.
Last week, BESE member Chas Roemer appeared before the commission and proposed a real streamlining idea: shut down the Department of Education on June 30, 2010, and re-open it July 1, 2010, as a new department, restructured to oversee state and federal programs and hold local school systems accountable for results. Plus, he wants to reform the MFP and the BESE Board. If DOE could start over and hire whom they wanted back, they may not need contracts to get things done.
But no, this suggestion is too bold and too big—and too out-of-the-box. Instead, the streamlining commission wants to guard against $30,000 contracts and paid speeches. Great. That will solve the $1 billion deficit.
Fact is, the Legislature is presented a budget each year to run government. They debate it, change it and finally approve what each agency and agency head gets to spend. There are many state rules about what they can and can’t do, but in the end, the agency heads, their cabinet secretaries, the commissioner of administration and, finally, the governor are responsible. They are accountable to the taxpayers for the way they spend and the results. That’s the way a “streamlined” government or company should operate.
The Legislature gets its shot at the budget, and we certainly don’t need these politicians [whom few in the state trust] to be micromanaging and second-guessing every department head year-round. This is a bad idea which wasn’t well thought out and may have been done more for “headlines” instead of real reform.
Let’s hope the Legislature will see the error of the commission in this case and kill this idea [or, if necessary, the governor could veto it], despite the pretension that it is somehow “good government.” It is not.
Les Miles as CEO
I don’t normally write about sports in my column other than to congratulate teams that win a national championship. It’s been great to do that for LSU football and baseball recently. But in this case I am going to compare LSU coach Les Miles [a man I personally like] to a CEO. Fact is, he makes more than $3 million every year—a lot more than practically every CEO in this state. And with that compensation comes the pressure and expectation to take charge and run a quality operation that is always prepared for the competition and performs at its maximum output. LSU football is a big business.
Coach Miles and his players have been provided the ultimate in facilities, equipment and support from LSU and the fans. The rest is up to him and his players. They have to execute.
Now, we all understand that the players are only 18- to 23-year-olds who play for a scholarship and the thrill of the game—and they are allowed mistakes. But for the coaches, it is a different story. You are rewarded for success and pay for mistakes.
The situation at Ole Miss was inexcusable for a top-10 college coach.
Confusion. Unprepared to win. Lack of communication. Dissension. Dazed.
For a high school coach, I could understand this. But for the coach and staff of LSU? Unacceptable. He didn’t even know what to say to the reporter after the game because he couldn’t explain it. He wasn’t sure what had happened. And he didn’t accept responsibility then either.
What happened at Ole Miss wasn’t fair to the players or to the LSU fans. And then, to add insult to injury, after all the local and national criticism, Coach Miles—two days later—said he accepted the blame for what happened. That wasn’t magnanimous—it was two days late. Who else was to blame when you’re the head coach? The buck stops with the CEO. It was the Miles show at Ole Miss, and he choked—and now the players and fans are paying for it.
As I write this column [pre-Thanksgiving], I am hoping LSU beats Arkansas and the team gets to enjoy a victory in a bowl game [though it will likely be a minor one now]. But after what we saw at Ole Miss, none of the coaches deserves a bonus this year, and they may be lucky to keep their jobs. As in the brutal corporate world, that decision might have already been made.
Business Awards
The deadline is this month for your nominations for the 27th annual Business Awards & Hall of Fame. Enter your CEO or company, or a client or vendor. Winners will be profiled in Business Report in April, followed by an awards banquet. Business Report and Junior Achievement present the awards annually, and the banquet is sponsored by Capital One and Franklin Press.
See details on categories and nominate online at batonrouge.ja.org.
