Next Stage in Brookings Reform Not Easy
A landmark study suggesting ways to improve and sustain Maine's economy didn't achieve a key objective.
By John W. Porter, editorial page editor
Maine Sunday Telegram: May 11, 2008
When GrowSmart maine contracted with a Washington think tank in 2006 to chart a new path for the state, even the most optimistic supporters of the $1 million initiative did not believe the Legislature would take every suggestion to heart.
Still, what's become known among Augusta insiders simply as "The Brookings Report" has had tremendous influence on public policy - with one notable and worrisome exception.
GrowSmart is a Yarmouth advocacy group founded by Alan Caron, a political activist with a long history of promoting environmental conscious policies in Maine.
The study it sponsored in 2006 was conducted by the Brookings Institution and was entitled, "Charting Maine's Future." It was released just ahead of the 2006 election to influence the Legislature's work in 2007 and 2008.
It was a report that was both centrist and sensible./ Critical to its success was the fact that it was specific enough that people on either side of the liberal-conservative divide could not hijack its findings to pump up their own agendas.
Brookings studied Maine and its economy and came up with three concrete, if somewhat broad, suggestions.
The state, it said, had to learn to better exploit what it called the "Maine brand." Maine's unmatched quality of place not only helped bring tourists here, but was attractive to a wide range of other businesses. The report had detailed recommendations for investing in Maine's "quality of place," including money for land conservation and preservation of historic structures.
It also highlighted the need for Maine to encourage technology growth through research and development.
Finally, the report dove into the ongoing and contentious battle here over taxes and government spending by suggesting that state and local government in Maine was inefficient. Money for needed public investments as well as relief for overextended taxpayers could be found by consolidating government functions and taking other steps toward greater efficiency.
NOT NEW IDEAS
Much of what the report said was not new to Maine policy wonks- the college professors, state bureaucrats, local think-tank staffers and journalists who traffic in ideas for better government. The economic value of conservation, the need for more R&D investment and the inefficiency of state and local government have been talked about in these circles for years. This newspaper's editorial department has been writing on these themes regularly.
But the Brookings report put all of this thinking in one volume and succeeded in creating momentum for at least two of the initiatives.
The state has borrow3ed money through the bonding process to address conservation and research needs. There have also been worthy initiatives such as the governor's Council on Quality Places.
But the response to the call for more efficiency in state and local government has been anemic and plagues with parochialism. Unfortunately, for Maine to make real progress toward better economy and more opportunity, it has to face up to this difficult task.
And lest you think it's not difficult, I should be clear about what government efficiency means. It means consolidating school districts as aggressively as first proposed by Gov. Baldacci. It means getting the counties completely out of the business of running jails. It means an aggressive review of the state bureaucracy that results in real cuts in the number of state employees. It means merging local police and fire departments. It means allowing the counties to do things like assessing, tax collection and road maintenance on a regional basis, taking those duties away from individual towns and even some cities.
Everyone in maine government is guilty of blinking when it came to this imperative. Even Gov. Baldacci, who admirably took up school and jail consolidation, didn't push hard to find and recommend cuts to the state bureaucracy.
What has been done in this area - consolidation legislation in response to Baldacci's focus on schools and jails- has been watered down to the point where the savings will be minimal and the change not nearly as wrenching as is necessary.
GIVING IT ANOTHER TRY
This failure has not escaped the notice of Caron, and he and his organization are out this month trying to raise money for another study and follow-up initiative aimed exclusively at the government efficiency piece of the original Brookings equation.
GrowSmart is working with David Osborne, senior partner with the Public Strategies Group of Essex, Mass.
Osborne worked with Vice President Al Gore and other members of the Clinton administration on a relatively successful effort to streamline the federal government in the 1990s. His firm has since worked with several states.
Because of rising public-sector health care costs and other factors, Osborne believes most state governments, including Maine, are heading into a period of "permanent fiscal crisis." That is, Maine is doomed to repeat the painful process that played out this year when lawmakers had to find nearly $200 million in cuts and revenues to balance the budget for the remainder of the biennium.
Osborne is right when he says rising health-care costs need to be addressed as part of any long-term solution - though I don't share his faith in the ability of individual states to deal with the problem comprehensively. He's right, as well, when he says government has to get more efficient to meet the demands that come with a shifting economic landscape.
Of course, it won't be hard for Osborne and his firm to identify the problems. Maine has too many units of government and too much bureaucracy. the real trick is getting people at all levels of government to give up their turf in a way that will cost many public-sector employees their jobs.
As Caron and Osborne make the rounds this month looking to raise $600,000 for this work, they'll argue that the political will to make these changes will come as the grim fiscal realities set in. When that happens, they want to be there with a plan.
That's a good idea, though I don't know that Maine's public-sector leaders will let go of the old way of doing things - and the turf they have as a result - without a big fight.
But it's a fight well worth having, because its outcome will determine Maine's future prosperity.
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