Maine’s government is largely ineffective and inefficient. There is tremendous room for improvement. As a Maine state employee for nearly thirty years, I saw this first hand. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive, holistic effort to identify and correct deficiencies. State government does not want one. If we improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government, we can minimize the amount of money that the government spends and the amount of taxes that we have to pay. We can not only do more with less, we can do more of what is truly most important and necessary for the people of Maine.
Maine’s legislature created the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA). It was established to give the appearance that checks and balances exist between the branches of government. Differentiating between the excellent OPEGA staff and the program, OPEGA is a farce. It is entirely politically driven, meaning that issues evaluated are determined by politicians on the legislature’s Government Oversight Committee. Assignment to OPEGA frequently occurs only after a serious problem occurs and is reported in the press. OPEGA is understaffed and cannot begin to do the government oversight that is needed. In addition, OPEGA has no authority to address fixing problems that they uncover.
As a state employee, I participated in several Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) internal program audits at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). These audits were more for show and to comply with EPA requirements than they were to identify and correct problems.. Maine’s government has no system of conducting internal program audits of the executive branch. This is a huge problem that Maine’s government has ignored for two centuries.
As governor, I will work to establish an independent internal program auditing function, much like the federal government’s Office of Inspector General. This office will conduct ongoing regular program audits of all executive branch departments to insure that they are conducting the people’s business properly and in compliance with the law. These audits must be followed up with appropriate corrective actions. As governor, I pledge to work to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of state government.
