State government shrinks with Kasich

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Ohio’s government continues to shrink under Gov. John Kasich, furthering a trend of declining public-sector employment.

An analysis by The Columbus Dispatch reports that employment throughout state government fell by 2,958 workers to 56,875 — a 5 percent drop.

Kasich ordered a leaner government when he took office in January, but taxpayer-funded jobs already had been declining under Democrat and then-Gov. Ted Strickland. The state’s work force fell by more than 2,000 from August 2007 to August 2008, and then another 2,000 by August 2009.

In 2009, there were 127 people working full time for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, which investigates between 4,000 and 6,500 discrimination cases each year. As of last month, the agency has 70 workers.

“It creates hydraulic pressure on the staff when you have less people doing a static amount of work,” the commission’s executive director, G. Michael Payton, told the newspaper.

He said services could suffer if the department takes any more cuts.

Kasich said his government reductions by and large have not created any gaps in services.

“If there are holes somewhere, somebody will yell and get our attention, and if it’s critical, we’ll be OK,” he said.

Less tax income has required the state to tighten its belt each year, and the two-year $55.8 billion budget signed in June will require state agencies to make cuts, if they haven’t already.

The Department of Administrative services reports that 263 state employees have been laid off since the budget took effect.

Not all job losses are due to layoffs, though. Because there is often a large amount of turnover in state government —through retirements, interagency transplants or resignations tied to regime change — governors can reduce the size of government by choosing not to fill vacancies.

Kasich says he thinks a smaller government benefits taxpayers.

“It wouldn’t matter if we were running giant surpluses,” said Kasich, who entered office facing an $8 billion budget shortfall. “This is such an incredible success story, and it is something we will do every single day of every single year.”