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Friday, October 16, 2009

Target Redundant Costs First To Trim State Budget

By Marita K. Noon
Executive Director, CARE
      If you could eliminate 4 percent of your debt with one pen stroke, you'd want to do that wouldn't you — especially if it meant removing some redundancy from your expenditures? For example, if you are renting an apartment and it includes free cable Internet access, but you were also paying for DSL through the phone company, you'd quickly cancel your DSL service, wouldn't you?
       When we are talking about 10 percent across the board cuts in New Mexico to solve the budget shortfall — including schools — being able to save 4 percent in redundancy would mean others only had to have a 6 percent cut. Don't you think our legislators should look at cutting redundancy?
       One of the many ways the federal government cuts costs is to move them to the states. The item still gets taken care of, but it is now the problem of the state, not the feds. We can do the same thing here in New Mexico, but we can move costs to counties — especially when the counties are usurping the state authority and doing the task themselves. They want to take on the duty, even though the Legislature assigned it to a specific state agency.
       I am talking about the Oil Conservation Division — created by the Legislature to manage and regulate oil and gas development in New Mexico. They do this. But more and more counties have hired consultants and are spending money to create their own regulations that are usually more stringent than the state's — making the Oil Conservation Division redundant. Santa Fe, Mora and Rio Arriba are just a few of the counties usurping the authority given to the division.
       At the recent New Mexico Oil and Gas Association's Annual Meeting, during a Q&A following his presentation, Mark Fesmire, director of the OCD, defended the counties' right to create their own regulations. Listening to his explanation, I thought, “Then why do we need you?” I raised my hand and asked what the division's annual budget was. He sputtered, apparently not wanting to reveal the number, which I have since been unable to locate online. He ultimately said the OCD annual budget was only about 4 percent of the state's budget problems — implying it was not enough to make any difference. But when legislators are looking at cutting school budgets, I say cutting redundancy is a better idea.
       On Saturday, our legislators will make a special trip to Santa Fe to determine if they can solve the budget crisis. One easy step is to dissolve the OCD. This would cost very few jobs, as the counties would need to increase their staffing to be able to enforce the very regulations they have — or are — passing. They'll need administrative staff, inspectors and engineers — just to name a few. Certainly “job creation” has become a buzzword. This proposal is a win-win. We take a major step toward solving the state's deficit while creating jobs.
       This is just one area where state and county are duplicating efforts. If we look closely, there are surely others. Maybe even duplicity between the state and cities. Let's suggest that our legislators start with disbanding the OCD and then look for other redundancies. I bet they are out there.
       

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