The state government has made numerous budget cuts this year. Some of the problems with those cuts is they are left to the department heads to implement. In some cases, they cut the services we need the most and not the excess spending. Any additional cuts need to be made on a line by line basis and not across the board. Each department’s budget needs to be itemized and audited. The department heads need to be held accountable for any wasteful spending.

Some departments have already been consolidated or eliminated. All departments need to be reevaluated for the same possible restructuring.

Our largest budget expenditure is AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System) at almost 31%. There is no question that this program should be scrutinized for cost efficiency and effectiveness.

Education funding is over 17% of our budget and needs to be reformed. There is more than enough money going to education. Not nearly enough of that money is getting to the classrooms. A per student allotment system does not seem to be the correct way to fund education. Each school or school district allotment might be more appropriate. Schools in some districts have different funding needs. Those different requirements should be considered. All options to education funding should be discussed and implemented, as appropriate, to achieve the highest educational standards and cost efficiency.

We must also prioritize essential services from most important to least important and budget accordingly. This starts with public safety (police and fire), education, AHCCCS on down. When the budget is completely allotted, the remaining services and departments do not get funded.

The illegal alien problem in Arizona is also contributing to our budget shortfalls. They put an unsustainable burden on all of our public services. Police and Sheriff departments, school districts, health care services and others cannot afford to, nor should they, provide services to people here illegally. Solving this problem is estimated to save 2-3 billion dollars per year.