LANSING – Value for money budgeting is not just a different concept to how the state spends its revenue; it is the essential intellectual element to how the state has to reorient itself to rebuild its economy with a focus on measurable results, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder said during an interview with Gongwer News Service on Thursday.

Interviewed by phone as the Legislature and Governor Jennifer Granholm worked on trying to resolve the 2010-11 fiscal year budget, Snyder said the whole model the state uses now in terms of setting budget targets and allocating funds on a programmatic basis is wrong. “It simply doesn’t make sense, because it doesn’t work well,” he said.

As he said the value for money process would be a key for establishing the overall success of a Snyder administration.

Asked what goals and measures he would use for himself should he be elected governor, Snyder said one would be, “Did I built a long-term approach for success?” Governmental approaches and strategies tend to change as each new person is elected into office, Snyder said, and what is needed is a consistent approach that helps lead the state to continuous success in the future. One of his goals as governor would be to serve as a catalyst towards a new ongoing process to achieve success.

Snyder also said he did not see a need at this time to respond to Democratic ads that blast his performance at Gateway because they are untrue and the public is tired of that type of campaigning. He is always assessing the situation and the effectiveness of the Democratic ads, he said, and when he gets home at night he looks forward to seeing “what evil things” he had supposedly done.

Oh, and he is not going to wear a tie at his October 10 debate with his Democratic opponent, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. “I haven’t worn one yet,” he said. But should he win the November 2 election, his wardrobe may see an “upgrade.”

The concept value for the money spent on government is similar to the “price of government” concept that was attempted by lawmakers in the mid-decade and largely failed both because not all lawmakers were committed to the process and because ideological concerns began to take precedence on other proposals. Granholm also used some concepts of the process when she first took office with her budget town hall meetings, where the public was asked what areas they most wanted to see protected, but that was criticized for failing to put a greater emphasis on issues, such as higher education, that could have a major effect on the state’s economy.

Snyder said too often the problem with state government is that issues are always framed in the context of how to spend money and how to allocate money to specific programs. “It’s essentially a small group of people going behind closed doors and negotiating out an arrangement, it’s about who wins or loses the marginal dollar,” he said of the target-setting process between the governor, Senate majority leader and House speaker. “And then the Legislature is put in a tough spot to say, well, here’s just what’s been given to us to work through. And it’s all based on spending billions of dollars on different activities and programs without measuring results.”

The lack of measurable results is a major problem with how state government operates, he said. No business and family would operate that way and neither should state government.

“Spending money without outcomes and measures is a waste,” he said.

Even facing a potential $1.6 billion deficit in the 2011-12 budget, which would be his first as governor and could be exacerbated by a potential $1.5 billion revenue loss by scrapping the Michigan Business Tax and replacing it with a corporate income tax as he has proposed, does not mean the movement to restructure the state’s taxes should necessarily be delayed.

Delaying a major tax change until the state is in better financial shape is the old way to approach things, Snyder said.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

a>>