Martin County government is expensive. A survey by the martin County
Republican party 2 years ago showed that our county government is among
the most expensive per capita in the state. The situation is not getting
better.
While private industries must make a profit , and their existence depends
on efficient operation, government departments are not judged on cost efficiency.
They are judged on how well they get the job done. if a street is not repaired
the department in charge is castigated and the department head is in trouble.
how cost effectively the street is repaired does not enter in to the picture
and is indeed very difficult to judge. in most cases county records will
not show the cost of such repairs. Not surprisingly, this may cause department
heads to worry more about doing the job than about cost savings.
Departmental budgets reflect this thinking. Getting enough money in the
budget to perform the job is most important. We do not mean to say that
department heads are not trying to cut costs, they are, but cost efficiency
is not their highest priority.
The only time departmental budgets can be controlled is during the yearly
budget review. Both administrative staff and the Commissioners review these
budgets and can make cuts. The efficiency of this budget reduction process
depends almost entirely on how the budget is presented. Trying to control
costs at this stage is not as effective as trying to control them while
the budget is being created.
The zero based budget introduced by the Martin County Taxpayers Association
is a procedure that is a proven cost cutter. The process, if used correctly,
will enable departments to recognize costs that are out of line while they
are preparing the budget. The format, which includes dividing the departmental
into many small activities budgets, helps budget reviewers recognize expenses
that re too high and procedures that are no longer necessary.
The Martin County Taxpayers Association feels that Martin Could should adopt
this process which has been widely used and proven successful for thirty
years. In 1994, a Taxpayers Association committee began the conversion to
the zero-based budget process in four departments and had some success.
However, in 1995, the Commission adopted a program designed by the administrative
staff. This is an activity based budget which uses the format of the zero-based
process, but not the procedure.
We are currently reviewing the resulting budget and find that the new format
is a substantial improvement over previous budget formats. It will make
the budgets easier for the commissioners to review and understand. It is
a good step toward a zero-based budget.
We are not sure that all of the commissioners appreciate what a good zero-based
budget process can accomplish. Some may not want to spend the hours necessary
to thoroughly review such a budget. This is unfortunate since the commissioners
are the only officials in Martin County who have a real chance to reduce
the budget. This is an important part of their job.
The Martin County Taxpayers Association would much rather help make the
budget process better than stand and criticize at budget review time. We
have the time, the people and the knowledge to contribute. If individual
taxpayers will let their commissioner know that they expect the county to
make full use of organizations such as ours, we may yet be able to save
ourselves some money. Additional government rules and mandates increase
the cost of government every year. It is important to use a budget process
that will eliminate unnecessary expense.
We can help in two areas. If you have budget experience and want to work,
please call our office. If you think its time to get serious about reducing
the budget, call your commissioner. Get involved; its your county!
We encourage your comments, criticisms, ideas, or any questions about how your
taxes work; call or fax 561-288-0474 or write to us at P.O. Box 741, Stuart,
FL 34995 or E-Mail us at admin@mctaxpayers.org or visit our WEB site, http://www.mctaxpayers.org