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By Dennis J. Willard
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 06:08 p.m. EDT, Jun 20, 2009
COLUMBUS: Like a popular network show that seemingly disappears from the broadcast schedule overnight, state Auditor Mary Taylor has rapidly faded to black.
Taylor has spent most of 2009 in the limelight on television, the radio and in newsprint, hammering Gov. Ted Strickland, his budget director, Pari Sabety, and the House Democrats for being fiscally irresponsible.
As millions of Ohioans were filing their taxes in April, Taylor attacked the governor and Democrats for infusing the $54 billion two-year state budget with billions of one-time federal stimulus dollars, and predicted a deficit of $8 billion if their spending plan was enacted.
Taylor, the first CPA (certified public accountant) to be state auditor, was criticized by Strickland and other Democrats for demagoguing the budget crisis.
Taylor told the Beacon Journal in an interview that she felt compelled as the state's auditor to examine the one-time money in the governor's budget plan and issue a warning, just as she would as an accountant working for a private company.
But since the House Democrats sent the budget to the Ohio Senate, where Taylor's fellow Republicans passed a spending plan using billions in one-time money, the saucy CPA has suddenly developed a case of fiscal laryngitis.
This is odd, because Taylor has been talking about the one-time money problem since late January, when Strickland outlined his intention to take advantage of federal stimulus dollars during his State of the State address.
Taylor has milked the free media cow for headlines and exposure during repeated run-ins with the Strickland administration and Sabety on other issues.
Taylor complained that her office was unable to complete an annual audit of the state because Sabety had not provided complete financial information.
Sabety and Taylor took turns answering questions on the ''inauditable'' state books before a Senate committee.
Twice, in February and May, Taylor opposed plans by the Ohio Public Facilities Commission to delay debt payments to free up about $453 million to pay for a budget shortfall this year and to find more one-time money for the next two years.
Did Taylor have a point? Of course. The state traditionally borrows money to build brick-and-mortar projects that outlast the duration of the loan. In this case, the deferred payments would add to the state's debt, and the money would be used to pay for day-to-day operations.
Taylor, through a surrogate, was the lone negative vote on the commission and also the only Republican.
In April, however, Taylor mounted a campaign to bring attention to the one-time money in the budget.
She released an eight-page ''sustainability analysis'' put together with the assistance of Tim Keen, a senior policy adviser and former state budget director under Gov. Bob Taft.
The analysis used the governor's revenue projections and the bottom line was Strickland was digging an $8 billion budgetary hole or structural deficit by using one-time money that would be spent and have to replaced after two years.
Taylor and Keen's sustainability analysis did not offer any suggestions to raise revenue or cut spending in other ways.
Strickland did not back down.
He wanted to know what taxes she would increase or services she would cut to avoid accepting the federal stimulus dollars.
The governor noted that Taylor would not even declare whether or not she would accept billions in federal stimulus money.
A few weeks later, Taylor sent Keen to testify in the Ohio Senate on the budget, and two Democrats on that chamber's finance committee wanted to know why the auditor was not there to speak and answer questions about the issues she was raising.
They were told Taylor was not in Columbus that day and that she had not appeared before the House.
But then again, she had not raised the specter of an $8 billion budget deficit at the time of the House hearings.
By the end of April, on the same day Ohio House Democrats passed their version of the two-year state budget, Taylor issued a news release addressing the challenge posed to her to find money or cut the budget.
She emphasized the potential to save hundreds of millions of dollars by enacting proposals outlined in a Medicaid performance audit, but that report's 54 recommendations amount to about $302.8 million annually in savings, a far cry from $4 billion a year.
Two weeks later, Democrat David Pepper, a Hamilton County commissioner, announced he would run for auditor in 2010.
Pepper promised not to play partisan games as state auditor, to remain neutral, independent, and to avoid being a political tool.
Taylor responded eight days later, declaring her intentions to seek re-election.
At her news conference, Taylor said she was independent, doing her job and letting the facts speak for themselves.
But on June 3, the day the Ohio Senate Republicans passed the budget with billions in one-time federal dollars still in place, the facts were not speaking for themselves and neither was Taylor.
Taylor decided to focus on the Senate Republicans' decision to implement Medicaid savings of $100 million annually, and she did not bring any attention to the potential $8 billion structural deficit in the Republican budget, as she did with Democrats.
Taylor was no longer compelled to speak truth to power.
And her silence makes one wonder whether CPA doesn't stand for calculating political animal.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
COLUMBUS: Like a popular network show that seemingly disappears from the broadcast schedule overnight, state Auditor Mary Taylor has rapidly faded to black.
Taylor has spent most of 2009 in the limelight on television, the radio and in newsprint, hammering Gov. Ted Strickland, his budget director, Pari Sabety, and the House Democrats for being fiscally irresponsible.
As millions of Ohioans were filing their taxes in April, Taylor attacked the governor and Democrats for infusing the $54 billion two-year state budget with billions of one-time federal stimulus dollars, and predicted a deficit of $8 billion if their spending plan was enacted.
Taylor, the first CPA (certified public accountant) to be state auditor, was criticized by Strickland and other Democrats for demagoguing the budget crisis.
Taylor told the Beacon Journal in an interview that she felt compelled as the state's auditor to examine the one-time money in the governor's budget plan and issue a warning, just as she would as an accountant working for a private company.
But since the House Democrats sent the budget to the Ohio Senate, where Taylor's fellow Republicans passed a spending plan using billions in one-time money, the saucy CPA has suddenly developed a case of fiscal laryngitis.
This is odd, because Taylor has been talking about the one-time money problem since late January, when Strickland outlined his intention to take advantage of federal stimulus dollars during his State of the State address.
Taylor has milked the free media cow for headlines and exposure during repeated run-ins with the Strickland administration and Sabety on other issues.
Taylor complained that her office was unable to complete an annual audit of the state because Sabety had not provided complete financial information.
Sabety and Taylor took turns answering questions on the ''inauditable'' state books before a Senate committee.
Twice, in February and May, Taylor opposed plans by the Ohio Public Facilities Commission to delay debt payments to free up about $453 million to pay for a budget shortfall this year and to find more one-time money for the next two years.
Did Taylor have a point? Of course. The state traditionally borrows money to build brick-and-mortar projects that outlast the duration of the loan. In this case, the deferred payments would add to the state's debt, and the money would be used to pay for day-to-day operations.
Taylor, through a surrogate, was the lone negative vote on the commission and also the only Republican.
In April, however, Taylor mounted a campaign to bring attention to the one-time money in the budget.
She released an eight-page ''sustainability analysis'' put together with the assistance of Tim Keen, a senior policy adviser and former state budget director under Gov. Bob Taft.
The analysis used the governor's revenue projections and the bottom line was Strickland was digging an $8 billion budgetary hole or structural deficit by using one-time money that would be spent and have to replaced after two years.
Taylor and Keen's sustainability analysis did not offer any suggestions to raise revenue or cut spending in other ways.
Strickland did not back down.
He wanted to know what taxes she would increase or services she would cut to avoid accepting the federal stimulus dollars.
The governor noted that Taylor would not even declare whether or not she would accept billions in federal stimulus money.
A few weeks later, Taylor sent Keen to testify in the Ohio Senate on the budget, and two Democrats on that chamber's finance committee wanted to know why the auditor was not there to speak and answer questions about the issues she was raising.
They were told Taylor was not in Columbus that day and that she had not appeared before the House.
But then again, she had not raised the specter of an $8 billion budget deficit at the time of the House hearings.
By the end of April, on the same day Ohio House Democrats passed their version of the two-year state budget, Taylor issued a news release addressing the challenge posed to her to find money or cut the budget.
She emphasized the potential to save hundreds of millions of dollars by enacting proposals outlined in a Medicaid performance audit, but that report's 54 recommendations amount to about $302.8 million annually in savings, a far cry from $4 billion a year.
Two weeks later, Democrat David Pepper, a Hamilton County commissioner, announced he would run for auditor in 2010.
Pepper promised not to play partisan games as state auditor, to remain neutral, independent, and to avoid being a political tool.
Taylor responded eight days later, declaring her intentions to seek re-election.
At her news conference, Taylor said she was independent, doing her job and letting the facts speak for themselves.
But on June 3, the day the Ohio Senate Republicans passed the budget with billions in one-time federal dollars still in place, the facts were not speaking for themselves and neither was Taylor.
Taylor decided to focus on the Senate Republicans' decision to implement Medicaid savings of $100 million annually, and she did not bring any attention to the potential $8 billion structural deficit in the Republican budget, as she did with Democrats.
Taylor was no longer compelled to speak truth to power.
And her silence makes one wonder whether CPA doesn't stand for calculating political animal.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 08:07 PM, 06/20/2009
Mary Taylor was the only elected, top level Ohio official willing to say "the emperor has no clothes" when the whole budget fiasco began to stir.
As your story grudgingly admits, she was RIGHT!
Now you want to pick on her for not running around saying Columbus or in front of the TV cameras yelling 'told, you so... told you so..."?
Strickland's attempt to embarrass Mary Taylor with his "what taxes do you want to raise or budget items to you want to cut" comes straight out of the Plusquellic/Democrat playbook of what to do when you are wrong or cornered... sling mud and misdirect all you can.
Nothing in the Ohio State Auditor's job description includes revenue or spending in her list of responsibilities.
Mary Taylor isn't the Governor. Mary Taylor isn't the state's budget director. Mary Taylor isn't a member of the state House or Senate. Mary Taylor IS the State Auditor, and a darn good one at that!
Dennis...
Why don't you go find a real story to write about? With a $2 billion hole in the budget, one shouldn't be that hard to uncover. I think your bias is beginning to show!
stow, ohio
Posted 08:44 PM, 06/20/2009
Overtaxed....is there any story that you can't work Plusquellics name into? I mean Bernie Kosar declared bankruptcy on Friday...Plusquellics fault?
Akron, OH
Posted 09:23 PM, 06/20/2009
Re: Plusquellic... If the shoe fits.
Re: Bernie... Not that I know of.
Richfield, OH
Posted 11:48 PM, 06/20/2009
Mary Taylor has done an outstanding job. Just contrast her performance to Mark Dann and Jennifer Brunner. The use of one time fund sources is comparable to Summit County Council's drawing down the "rainy day" fund rather than controlling spending. Neither is sustainable.
