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Kasich: Services need to be more efficient
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Governor John Kasich
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Gov. John Kasich said school districts and local governments should focus their attention on making their offices more efficient and not on the potential for increased state support.
“I would encourage local governments to start embracing these tools, to support the budget, to get themselves in a position of where they can control their costs,” the governor said. “They can’t say ‘We don’t have enough money, but I don’t want to control my costs.’”
He added, “All government must become more efficient. All of them.”
Kasich appeared before an audience at an ice cream shop in a Columbus suburb Monday, offering an overview of his accomplishments since taking office in January and a snapshot of some of the policy changes his administration has spearheaded to cut government spending.
The latter includes provisions included in the state budget and separate legislation passed by lawmakers — that list includes collective bargaining reform, a mechanism for pooling employee health care benefits and incentives for sharing administrative services.
“If they’ve got other things that they would like to help them control their costs, we’re more than happy to give them those tools,” Kasich said.
“Our schools, our communities, our cities need to become more efficient, just like families do and just like businesses do.”
The governor’s comments came after budget testimony by officials from a number of Ohio communities last week.
Most echoed a common theme: City and county governments and school districts are being asked to shoulder disproportionate cuts, and the state should increase its funding to avoid widespread property or other tax increases at the local level.
Many local government officials also have called on Kasich and lawmakers to consider increasing state funding levels if tax and other revenue collections come in ahead of current projections.
But Kasich said increasing government spending would be a mistake. Savings, he said, should be used to reduce Ohio’s tax burden, creating a better economic climate for business growth.
“There will be a few more dollars, I’m sure, by the time this is all done, but not a lot,” Kasich said.
“It’s the end of it. Embrace the tools. Support the budget. Help us to work together here. Control your costs. Make government more efficient and more effective. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. Everybody always wants to have more money. We go down that path, we’re not going to get out of this mess.”