Transforming Washington's Budget Economic Development

Seattle Times recently ran an investigative article, revealing how some state employees are collecting state pension while on active payroll with the state. In many cases, the article claimed the employees "retired" from the job only to immediately get hired on for the very same position. This is a waste of the taxpayer's money and should be stopped. Not only would the cut not impact existing headcount, it would allow ...more »

Put inmates to work. It costs the state enormous amounts of money to inprison these people. Put ALL of them to work manufacturing goods to sell.

Require proof of legal residency before providing any public financed or subsidized services.

Stop requiring new plates being issued every few years for vehicles. You should only have to get new ones when requested by the owner of the vehicle or if ticketed. Besides savings on labor and materials for the plates; any software changes need for computers to recognize the new plate format.

Limit maximum pay of state employees. Does any state employee need to make more than $250,000 in pay and benefits? If you are so afraid to loose them to private employers, let them go and save money by attrition. There are way to many state employees making seriously large salaries.

You say you are looking at creative ways to increase revenue through program cuts or increasing taxes so, why hasn’t anyone looked at revamping how state funding is allocated? You ask any agency accountant or OFM and most every state employee can tell you this too, how many times have you heard the phrase “got to send it or lose it” especially around the end of a fiscal year or biennium? If an agency doesn’t spend ...more »

Sell all the building and land the liquor stores sit on when liquor sales are privatized after the elections.

Remove the requirement for front license plates for vehicles. Nearly half the states do not require them. The state can save the costs of making the plates and the enforcement required.

There are too many ways to list. I see the system abused on so many levels. Watching people pay for their booze & smokes with cash and food with food stamps is a very typical scene.

TransAlta (the owners of the state's only coal-fired power plant in Centralia which is our state's largest single source of pollution) receives a $5 million-a-year sales tax exemption for burning coal in Washington. This corporate tax loophole must be ended in the next budget.

Let the prisons become more self-sufficient. Have them create and work gardens for fresh foods on a massive scale. Get solar panels or another renewable energy source so that they can create their own energy source to run their electricity and maybe even sell it back to the electric companies to help fund other areas of the prison.

I suggest that WA State STOP spending money on art projects! If there is not enough money for essential services such as health agencies, police/troopers, fire, schools, prisons, the State has NO business spending even a penny on any art projects, or Poet Lauriets, etc. It's shameful if it continues!