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Posted by Budget Watcher on 4/04/11 •
Our friend authored the following guest post, which we reprint in its entirety:
OHIO’S ROBESPIERRE
Tucked between pages 261 and 266 of Sub. H.B. No. 153 are six pages with 200 lines of budget language that make the OBM Director the most powerful person in the State of Ohio. He can contract out any state service to any “qualified” bidder in order to “more efficiently and effectively” provide those services. Period. That’s it.
So, Ohioans. When you voted for John Kasich, did you know that you also voted to allow one Cabinet Director the sole power to sell off any state operation to the bidder he alone deems “the most qualified”? No public scrutiny. No legislative oversight. No requirement that the contractor provide services at a lower cost.
There is no requirement that the bidder be current on their taxes, be a company in the state of Ohio, employing Ohioans. There is no requirement that they operate a safe workplace or pay a legal wage. There is no prohibition on campaign contributions by the bidder to any campaign. There is no prohibition on outsourcing.
So let’s get this straight. A campaign contributor, who operates a call center in El Salvador paying workers $2.50 a day, who is behind in paying taxes can get a lucrative state contract for providing phone assistance to Ohio’s unemployed, if Tim Keen thinks they are most “qualified”.
Not since Boss Tweed have we seen state government put up for sale like this. Oh, and that’s not all. It also exempts any contractor from paying taxes on gross receipts (that’s the CAT tax!) or on income “derived from providing public services” levied by the state or any subdivision. In other words, they will be exempt from all state and local taxes.
Can you spell FIRE SALE?
Here is what Ohio’s people need. Accountability. We can’t depend on an appointed political hack to make these decisions in a smoke-filled room. We need an open, transparent way to monitor whether the state is getting the best deal for its money. These deals need to be evaluated to assure that Ohio’s taxpayers are getting the best value for the money we are forking over to throw state employees out of work and enrich private corporations. Why do I say that? These contractors won’t pay any taxes!! Honestly, private operators of state services should not be able to walk away with taxpayer’s hard-earned money, without paying the taxes that every other business in Ohio has to pay.
When the Strickland Administration securitized the state’s tobacco receipts for $5.5 billion, they did so using a public authority, whose RFPs required the lowest cost, most responsive bid from every party to the transaction. The Authority’s deliberations were open to the public, and were attended by media and followed assiduously by statehouse legislative finance staff. This is the model that should be used to assure that we don’t sell off Ohio’s assets in shady backroom deals to John Kasich’s best contributors.
Ohio Budget Watch is here to shine the spotlight on budget provisions like this so there is time for legislators and the public to ask questions and demand changes before it’s too late. We certainly hope in these cases that the General Assembly will elect not to forfeit its constitutional authority, handing the executive branch unlimited power to operate without scrutiny or accountability, as seems to be the desire of the administration.
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