New Coalition Proposes Ideas for Government Efficiency in Nevada

A new group has formed to propose innovative strategies to create a healthy State with well-supported public systems and services and an improved fiscal system.

Members of the Nevada Values Coalition have met twice for “big tent”, nonpartisan meetings to discuss the complex issues, and members then further examined ideas through subcommittees.

Christy McGill, a Nevada Values Coalition member, the Human Services Network Advocacy Chair, and the Executive Director of Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey, said the Values Coalition:

— Met with the Governor-elect and his transition team on Tuesday, December 14 with eight Nevada Values coalition delegates from Vegas, Reno, and rural Nevada.

— Met with several legislators, including Assemblyman Tom Grady.  Additionally, each legislator in both the Assembly and Senate has been e-mailed a copy of their position paper and list of supporters (now totaling more than 80 organizations and individuals and representing roughly 700,000 Nevadans who they serve.)

— Met with the Reno Gazette-Journal's editorial board on Wednesday, December 15 to discuss attached position paper.
  
Governor’s Elect Requests Ideas for Grant Planning at State Level

The Governor-elect and his team want ideas about better grant planning at the State level. The Nevada Values Coalition will gather and share their ideas for government efficiency, and for creating wrap-around, cost-effective services through schools. They’ll also offer the Governor ideas about why economic development is not “filling the holes” for service shortages in Nevada.

Contact: If you have input, concerns, or want to get more involved or sign the position paper (see below), please call Christy McGill, Human Services Network Advocacy Chair (246-7550), or Erik Schoen of the Human Services Network Board (847-9311). The next Nevada Values Coalition meeting is set for Tuesday, December 21st from 10-11 am. Following is the Nevada Values Coalition’s position paper, and a list of those who have signed it to date:

Shared Goals for Nevada's Healthy Future
Nevada Values Coalition Positon Paper
Nevada’s government provides essential state services for all Nevadans through state and local employees, including teachers, police officers, and social service workers.

Prior to the economic turn down in 2007, in comparison to other states, Nevada already had the smallest number of state employees per capita and ranked near the bottom of many indicators of health/well-being. Since 2007 our state government has experienced four rounds of budget cuts.

We believe it is time to stop cutting essential services and start on the path to economic recovery through thoughtful, responsible management.
The current crises that Nevada faces will impact us for decades, and as a result we need to answer some fundamental questions: What kind of a state do we want to live in? Do we want a healthy, functioning community and well-supported public systems and services? How can we improve our fiscal system?

Well-educated students, well-trained workers, a healthy environment and functioning infrastructure are the foundations of a strong economy. Now more than ever we need our public systems and structures to respond to the economic situation, to provide support and protection to those hardest hit by the economic downturn, and to pave the way for a robust recovery. This is no time to dismantle the tools we need to move our state forward.

Any responsible approach to addressing the current budget shortfall requires a hard and balanced look at both how we spend money and how we bring it in. Taxes need to be part of the equation.

Proposals are being made to go back to the budgets of 2007 which are estimated to be approximately $5.2 billion. In 2011, we must look at what this budget means for our state.

Some basic facts about our human services and education budgets:
Caseloads in all the main programs like Food Stamps and Medicaid have gone through the roof since 2007, so the proposed scale-back will require major elimination of programs, services and eligibility groups.

Under the Affordable Care Act we cannot legally cut Medicaid eligibility groups, which means the only legally allowable areas to cut are reductions in rates and optional services. However, while these reductions may be legal, they are devastating and unwise policy.

Medicaid has been kept afloat by the federal government with the increased FMAP (federal matching rate), a temporary fix, and caseloads are projected to continue to rise as the unemployment rate rises.

Nevada ranks at or near the bottom of the list of states in per-pupil expenditures, graduation rates, and dropout prevention for K – 12 grades.

Higher education has already cut 20% of their budgets and lost 900 employees while facing record enrollments as Nevadans try to get needed education.

Before examining the need for additional revenue, it is essential to look at possible changes to make government more efficient. The following ideas in the Human Services area are being suggested:

Consolidation of all DHHS services in the rural areas. Shift the focus from jobs to services—consider contracting with local service providers and counties.

Consider contracting with Tribal Health, VA Health, or private health care organizations where they exist to expand their services to serve additional rural populations.

Allow existing publicly funded Treatment (addiction) Agencies to also contract to implement rural General Mental Health Services.

It is important to look at the positive effect of raising revenues during a recession. The following article explains how government spending helps boost the local economy – both the public and private sector – as every dollar goes into the Nevada economy.

Elliott Parker: The Economic Principles of State Budget Cuts
(Click here)
There is great concern at what budget cuts will do to our local communities, not only from the impact on local providers and clients, but also the financial impact to the private sector of less spending in the community.

The proposals to shift spending from state to the local counties and cities will not solve the important problems we face.
Historically, increases in taxes do not appear to have affected growth in Nevada. The following article dispels the notion that taxes hurt our business community.

Elliott Parker: Do taxes kill jobs? Let's look at the facts
Click here and here.

It is often said that we must all tighten our belts and share in the sacrifice to get our state back on track. Yet if our deficit is addressed with cuts alone, the sacrifices are shared solely by those seniors, people with disabilities and children who need the education and human services that make up over 80% of our state’s budget. Compared to other states our tax burden is extremely light. To have the kind of Nevada which we value and which it will attract new business we must together invest in an infrastructure in which we can be proud.

Supporters of the Nevada Values Coalition

Jennifer Hinton, The Life Change Center, 400+ people served
Diana Haberland, private citizen
Laura Coger, Consumer Direct Care, 1,000+ people served
Ryan Brewer, private citizen
Elisa Cafferata, NV Advocate for Planned Parenthood, 25,000 clients / 30,000 supporters
Stacy Shinn, UNR School of Social Work
Sally Dutton, private citizen
Shaun Griffin, Community Chest, 1,000+ people served
Erik Schoen, private citizen
Nancy Hart, UUFNN / Social Justice Council, 225 members
Brittani Keefe, Down Syndrome of Northern Nevada, 500 people served
Kathy Rodriguez, Youth Transition Project, 20 employees
Melanie Kauffman, Family Ties of NV, 100,000 / 4,000 served
Nicole Schomberg, private citizen
Marcia O’Malley, Family Voices Parent Advocate, 65,000
Kate High, Women & Children’s Center of the Sierra
Heidi Hurst, Northern NV Immunization Coalition
Patty Elzy, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Deborah Armstrong, Safe Embrace
Freida Carbery, Dayton Food Pantry
Peter Vogel, Catholic Charities (of Northern Nevada)
Travis Mills, People First of Nevada
Kari Horn, private citizen
Rachelle L. Pellisier, ReStart, 300 people served
Molly Larson, Hearthstone of Northern Nevada, 125 residents / 150 staff
Mike Pomi, Children’s Cabinet, 10,000 families served
Tom Durante, private individual, past president of NASW (Nevada Chapter)
Mark Nichols, National Assn. of Social Works (Nevada Chapter)
Jon Sasser, NV Lawyers for Progressive Policy
Reggie Bennett, Rebuilding All Goals Effectively (RAGE)
Diana Rovetti, Down Syndrome Network of Northern Nevada
Diane Ross, The Continuum, 20,000 visits/treatments annually
Karen Taycher, Nevada PEP, 14,000 individuals served
Richard L. Siegel, private citizen
Michael P. Rodolico, HAWC Inc., 27,431 individuals served
Jennifer Strobel, Families for Effective Autism Treatment, 600+ members
Jill B. Jones, Emeritus Associate Professor at UNR, private citizen
Tom McCoy, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, “thousands” helped
Jan Gilbert, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Kari Larson, Stagecoach Hospital District, 7,000 patient visits annually
Ronni Council, Organized Karma
Judith Pinkerton, Center for Creative Therapeutic Arts
Mary Lee Fulkerson, private citizen
Russ Rougeau, private citizen
Connie McMullen, Senior Spectrum Newspaper
Jane Heenan, Equality Nevada
Rev. Neal T. Anderson, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada
John Hadder, Great Basin Resource Watch
Barry Gold, AARP Nevada, 303,937 members
Karen Benzer, MoveOn.org of Southern Nevada
Manal Toppozada, The Note-Ables, 300+ served
Stephanie Schoen, OTR/L, developmental disability advocate
Karen Picus, EdD, occupational therapist
Pamela E. Galloway, community activist
Marjorie Sill, private citizen
Ed Vento, Nevada Hispanic Services
Denise Tanata Ashby, Nevada Institute for Children's Research & Policy
Marlene Lockard, Nevada Women’s Lobby
Food Bank of Northern Nevada
Public Resource Associates
Kristopher Komarek, My Mindful Change, 100+ served
Jeffrey Davis, Children and Family Counseling, 100+ served
Ian Curley, Lyon Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, 200+ served
Joe Sanford, Lyon County Sheriff, approximately 50,000 served
Wanda Nixon, Mineral County CHN, 4,000 served
Donna McElry, E.S.L. Dayton
Liz Root, Nevada Legal Services
Christy McGill, Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties
Paula Berkley, Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence
Glenn C. Miller, Ph.D., UNR Professor, Natural Resources and Env. Science
Yaebin Kim, “Partners in Parenting” in UNR-Cooperative Extension, +6000 parents and children served every year
Edna Meza, UNR student senator
Dwight M. Mazzone, CDHC, Nevada Association of Health Underwriters
Richard Yao, Ph.D., School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Nevada State College
Jeffrey Klein, Nevada Senior Services, 650 participants and caregiver units served
Helen L. Nolte, private citizen
LaVonne Brooks, High Sierra Industries WARC & Fallon
Lynn Warne, Nevada State Education Association
James T. Richardson, J.D., Ph.D., Director, Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies
Deborah Achtenberg, Chair of Philosophy, Chair of Religious Studies, UNR
81. Vishnu Subramaniam, AFSCME Local 4041

Numbers represented: Approximately 672,038