e Pew Center on the States and Governing magazine released a report last week grading the fifty States on the effectiveness of their governments in handling money, people, infrastructure, and information. Ohio’s overall B- was the national average; but Ohio had one strong area, handling of money (B), and one that was weak, handling of people (C+). Handling of infrastructure and information each received a B-.The report praised the Strickland Administration for its commitment to measurable long-term goals, for providing the public with a scorecard to know how the State is doing, and for the success of the Ohio Administrative Knowledge System (OAKS). Ohio was also praised for its intergovernmental coordination and for the way it has developed its online services and information.
On the minus side, the Administration made some blunders in its early choices for budget cuts. Ohio also needs to work harder at “human capital planning” to prepare for a coming retiree exodus; but notes that this will be difficult because of an “old-school, rigid relationship with labor unions – and the resulting Byzantine employee classification system.” Other demerits were given for Ohio’s system of financial controls and reporting, and its hiring system.
The highest scores went to Utah, Virginia, and Washington, each with an A- average. Utah seems to do almost everything right; the other two have long standing reputations for their outstanding use of information technology to support performance goals. On the other hand, New Hampshire (D+ overall) fiscally strangled itself by taking to an extreme former Ohio Gov. George Voinovich’s dictum to “do more with less.”
Ohio’s Report Card in 2005
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