January 29, 2009

Governor Markell Launches ‘Reality Check’ Briefings on the Budget Challenge

Briefing part of Governor’s ‘Honest Assessment’ of historic $606 million shortfall

DOVER – Governor Jack Markell on Thursday delivered the first of dozens of presentations that he will give throughout Delaware in the coming weeks called the “Reality Check on the State Budget Challenge.”

The briefing offers an honest assessment of the state’s historic shortfall and puts Delaware’s challenges into a larger national context. The presentation makes clear that in total dollars, the current shortfall is the largest fiscal challenge Delaware has had to meet in its history.

“Government can no longer pretend that it has all the answers,” Markell said during the briefing in the Tatnall Building in Dover. “It has to be willing to ask the tough questions, and more importantly, be willing to hear the hard truth of honest answers and bear the cost of shared sacrifice. Failure to make hard decisions and the failure to examine with honest eyes every aspect of state government can carry an unbearable cost.”

During his time as a consultant with McKinsey and Company and as an executive with Nextel and Comcast, Markell used similar presentations to diagnose systemic problems with multi-billion dollar organizations and begin solving them.

“We will need to take stock of what our state government truly needs to provide in order to ensure the health and prosperity of our families, children and neighbors,” Markell said.

The presentation offers illustrations of how Delaware’s government spends $606M. For example, cutting all state spending in the following areas would just make up the shortfall:

Eliminate funding for the Departments of Technology and Information, State, Finance, Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Safety and Homeland Security, Agriculture, Elections, Fire, and National Guard plus portions of the Department of Correction (Sussex Correctional Institution, Baylor Correctional Institution, James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, Community Corrections, Inmate Medical Services and Substance Abuse Treatment).

AND Shut down the Veteran’s Home

AND Close all State Parks

AND Eliminate mental and behavioral health services to children including juvenile justice facilities

Last week, in unveiling his “Honest Assessment,” Markell launched a performance review of state government to find every savings opportunity possible.

“Every effort will be made to find efficiencies, eliminate waste, and ensure that the citizens of Delaware are receiving the best value for their tax payer dollars,” Markell said. “But that will not be enough. Difficult decisions demand shared sacrifice across the state.”