---

State offices could
perform their jobs
more efficiently

THE ISSUE A nationwide study has given Hawaii a fair grade for state government performance.

HAWAII has received a so-so performance grade of C in a new analysis of state governments. The report suggests mainland states experiencing a fiscal crisis in recent years have been driven to become innovative and more efficient. Hawaii's newly healthy economy should prompt state officials to heed those streamlining strategies in preparation for harder times that are sure to come.

The Government Performance Project, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, reports that Hawaii has made "at least modest progress" in controlling the state's budget. The full report can be seen at http://www.gpponline.org.

"When Hawaii closed the books in 2002, the state had a $200 million imbalance," state Budget Director Georgina Kawamura boasted to the report's authors. "For the next fiscal year, we were looking at just $16 million.

"The goal is structural balance," she added. "It is a definite focus." However, the project reports "smoke and mirrors" in Hawaii's fiscal management, pointing to the state's rainy day fund as "a perfect example."

The fund was created six years ago with a contribution of $5.8 million and quickly grew to $50 million. The state continued to add $10 million to the fund annually, the report says, but it also has withdrawn the same amount each year, "leaving it stuck in the sand at the $50 million figure, too little to be of much help in a serious fiscal crisis."

The report's most positive grade for Hawaii, a B, is in the area of managing the state's workforce. It credits primarily the enactment of civil service reform, taking effect in 2002, abolishing "numerous rigidities in the personnel system" and making it easier to fill "crucial workforce positions."

It neglects to point out that the 2003 Legislature repealed the most important element of the reform -- ending mandatory arbitration of labor contract stalemates involving nonessential state and county workers, restoring their right to strike -- and went into special session to override Governor Lingle's veto of the repeal. Mandatory arbitration should be limited to essential workers' contracts.

Hawaii's worst grade, a D, is in the area of information technology, measured as a weakness in every aspect. The report says Hawaii has no up-to-date plan for using the new technology, leaving it "fragmented," with the quality of performance varying.

The inadequacy exists both within the government, making it difficult for some managers to receive necessary data, and with the public, leaving citizens with limited Internet access to state services, according to the report. While people have easy online access to some services, such as welfare benefits, food stamps, Medicare and filing income taxes, they are unable to access numerous services, from determining road conditions to learning about graduation rates for schools.

Hawaii residents have more difficulty than people in other states to communicate their concerns on the Internet to government agencies, the report says. Communication on the state's Web sites should be two-way.