Snyder steals budget director from Utah

Gov-elect Rick Snyder went all the way to Utah to find his budget director, hiring the executive director of that state’s Office of Planning and Budget, John Nixon, for the job. Nixon is also the president of the National Association of State Budget Officers.

Peter Luke looks at Nixon’s background and what he has done in Utah, some of which sounds encouraging:

He said he subscribes to the tenets of what Snyder calls “values-based budgeting” that Nixon said calls for taking a hard look at the proper functions of state government, the resources allocated to them and making sure they’re in the “right order.”

Utah, for example spends $3 on higher education for every $1 it spends on corrections. Michigan, in the 2011 budget, will spend 79 cents on universities for every $1 spent on prison and parole operations.

“We know that in Utah, a key to a successful economic development effort is having a good education system,” said Nixon, a view that he says Snyder shares…

Nixon also helped oversee an overhaul of Utah’s tax code. A central element in Snyder’s plan to “reinvent” Michigan calls for a business tax overhaul estimated to cost $1.5 billion. Nixon said he favors examining state tax credits, the value of which currently exceed what’s spent in the budget, to make sure they are still serving their intended purpose. Utah has adopted a system of performance-based measures for all state budgets and every expenditure is posted online for public inspection.

“I believe you can cut (spending) and do things more effectively and efficiently, but you have to look at the revenue side as well,” he said.

I like the sound of all of that.