California’s state workers – who provide the vital state services we all rely upon – say the governor’s across-the-board cuts are just another fiscally irresponsible budget “purge,” and that billions in uncollected taxes are a “binge” we can’t afford.

Members of SEIU Local 1000, the largest union of state workers, say that the governor and legislators aren’t paying attention; that the way to a healthy budget is better management practices, more accountability, and greater transparency in the way California operates its $100 billion-plus annual budget.

Local 1000 members today identified the first of a series of solutions to the budget crisis that could save billions of dollars…all without a tax increase or program cut.

• The Legislative Analyst’s Office points to $6.5 billion in corporate and personal income taxes that go unpaid – and uncollected – each year. Filling the 349 vacancies at Franchise Tax Board will go a long way to closing the gap, and hiring even more collectors would be prudent. Let’s collect the taxes we’re owed before we apply cuts to this and other revenue-generating departments.
  
  
• Members point to wasteful outsourcing as another example of fiscal mismanagement. The state spends $320 million annually to outsource information technology to private contractors, when the work can be performed by state employees for half the price.
  
  
• While the state spends $50 million annually to house prisoners out-of-state and has billions planned for new prison construction, the state could save more than $100 million by releasing 33,000 prisoners on time. A budget cut at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation could cause additional delays – and needless cost overruns.
  

The non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s office calls the budget crisis “structural”. It advises avoiding knee-jerk responses. Slashing budgets across the board isn’t a measured response – it’s binge and purge, all over again.

The members of Local 1000 have seen the governor’s budget “demons.” They are the decision makers who aren’t doing the job of managing government effectively or efficiently. Before we raise taxes or cut essential programs, we need to put California on a healthy fiscal diet by managing government responsibility and meeting the expectations of Californians.