Mississippi Today
Auditor Shad White releases study on Mississippi government spending fat
State Auditor Shad White on Monday released a study he commissioned to find government waste, saying it identified more than $335 million in government fat that could easily be trimmed without tanking services to taxpayers.
White paid a Massachusetts-based consulting group $2 million for the study. He gave Boston Consulting Group the directive to find at least $250 million in wasteful spending among the 13 state agencies it examined.
It appears White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann โ who have each indicated they have 2027 gubernatorial aspirations and have sparred with each other politically โ will have dueling government fat-trimming initiatives. Hosemann said recently he wants legislation to reorganize and consolidate state government.
In a livestreamed press conference and public presentation Monday, White called his study long overdue and, “A roadmap for a leaner, more modern state government that saves money … to make sure we are getting the biggest bang for our bucks.” He said the study had “No criminal findings … but we found inefficiency.”
Mississippi has more than 200 agencies, boards and commissions, and a more than $7 billion state-support budget.
White’s report recommends the state consolidate its purchasing and look for better deals when it buys goods and services. For instance, the study noted that when the state buys Dell computers, it “pays a higher price than individual consumers could find from Dell’s consumer website” in some cases. It noted state agencies were paying $245 for a computer monitor that the public could buy for $195 and that could be had for $130 through a federal government purchasing deal available to state and local governments.
Much of the Boston consultant’s report for White covers potential savings or overspending that others โ including White โ have pointed out in the past. This includes spending on state buildings and office space, which some lawmakers and others have questioned over years, and government travel, which media has examined. It also noted potential savings from consolidating purchasing and back-office functions, which others have in the past championed, usually with minimal success.
The report found that, compared to other states, Mississippi government is spending too much on office space and insurance for state buildings and on advertising and public relations for state agencies.
White said some government offices have 800 square feet per employee and, “We are a lot of times leasing space we don’t need to be leasing.”
READ MORE: Former Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson gives Mississippi lawmakers tips on streamlining governmentย
White also said Mississippi could sell the state’s airplane, do like 18 other states and make officials rely on commercial or charter flights, and save over $1 million a year.
The consultant’s study focused on some of the state’s largest agencies, including the Departments of Education, Corrections, Revenue, Medicaid, Public Safety and Finance and Administration. Most examined are agencies that report directly to Gov. Tate Reeves. White on Monday praised the governor for his cooperation in the study.
Much of White’s proposed savings in the “Project Momentum” report would require legislative action. He said Monday that numerous lawmakers have been anxiously awaiting his report and he is hopeful “they will look at this very closely.”
Neither Hosemann, who oversees the state Senate, nor Speaker Jason White, who oversees the House, immediately responded to a request for comments sent to their offices Monday.
The report recommends the state “operate more like a business,” and that Mississippi leaders “ruthlessly eliminate or alter failing programs” to save taxpayers money.
“The nature of government is people forget what happened yesterday and forget what went wrong yesterday, and that nature of government is to do nothing,” White said.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1798
Oct. 28, 1798
Abolitionist Levi Coffin was born in North Carolina. His home in Newport, Indiana, became known as the โGrand Central Station of the Underground Railroad.โ
In 1821, his cousin ran a Sunday school for Black Americans, but when slaveholders rebelled against this, the school was forced to close. After he and his family moved to Indiana, he began working on the Underground Railroad.
โThe Bible, in bidding us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, said nothing about color, and I should try to follow out the teachings of that good book,โ he said. โI thought it was always safe to do right.โ
He helped thousands of Black Americans find freedom, and after the Civil War ended, he became a leader in the Western Freedmen’s Aid Society, raising more than $100,000 (the equivalent of $2.66 million) in a single year for African Americans who needed food, clothing, funds and education. His autobiography, โReminiscences of Levi Coffin,โ was published a year before his 1877 death.
In 1902, a 6-foot monument was built to mark his grave, and his former home became a National Historic Landmark.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Podcast: How are patients faring with Mississippiโs medical marijuana program?
Mississippi Today’s Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison get an update on the state’s medical cannabis program from Angie Calhoun, founder and CEO of the Mississippi Cannabis Patients Alliance. Calhoun became an advocate for medical marijuana when her son suffered debilitating Lyme Disease symptoms but could not try cannabis treatment in Mississippi. Her alliance provides many resources for patients and practitioners. Go to https://www.mscannapatient.com/.
READ MORE: As lawmakers look to cut taxes, Mississippi mayors and county leaders outline infrastructure needs
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1924
Oct. 27, 1924
Actress Ruby Dee was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
Starting in the 1940s, she acted on Broadway, in movies and on television, starring alongside Sidney Poitier and others. She and her husband, Ossie Davis, acted together and served as master and mistress of ceremonies at the 1963 March on Washington. They were friends with both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. and later hosted a two-hour special, โThe Second American Revolution.โ
Dee spoke passionately about โa racism that has made rage the basic rhythm of our lives. A racism that has trampled our self-esteem and numbed hope. Racism, that cancer on the bosom of our nation, that gnaws at the psyche of black America and keeps us screaming and shaking for relief. โฆ Those who try to overcome in spite of all link us to survival, to hope, to ourselves. And so we must keep on telling the stories of our heroes and heroines, sung and unsung, as best we can. Because it is they who urge us to hang on, to join hands, to move relentlessly toward greater understanding among all people, to move toward justice and toward love.โ
During her career, she won a Grammy, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild Award and Kennedy Center Honor. In 2007, she became the second oldest woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie โAmerican Gangster.โ She died in 2014.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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