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November 20, 2008 4:37 PM

Washington state budget-cut tomfoolery: Lawmakers should keep Auditor Brian Sonntag's performance audits

Expect a bloodbath as state lawmakers wrestle with what is now projected to be a $5.1 billion deficit in the next two-year budget cycle.

But lawmakers should make sure they are not being pennywise and pound foolish. One of scores of suggestions that executive branch is said to be considering is cutting the state's appropriation for performance audits. That would be a mistake, especially since the program has been returning about $9 in recommended savings for every dollar spent on performance audits.

State auditor Brian Sonntag first proposed performance audits in 1993 -- as a way to improve the efficiency of government. It took voters approving Initiative 900 a couple of years ago for Sonntag to gain the authority to begin doing them -- and the program has been successful, highlighting ways government can save money in everything from state transportation projects to the state General Administration's motor pool to the Port of Seattle.

State agencies across the board are facing steep cuts, but to eliminate performance audits, a program that finds savings pays for itself nine times over, is not a good idea.

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