BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, the Republican candidate for Ohio treasurer, said Monday that state government can cut costs by reducing the number of agencies authorized to borrow money. The current treasurer, fellow Cincinnati Republican Ken Blackwell, cautioned that such an idea could face a roadblock from the next governor, who might consider the proposal a "power grab" by the treasurer's office.
Sixteen state agencies can borrow money for projects such as affordable housing, tollways, state office buildings, university facilities and sewage treatment plants. Most of the agencies are overseen by boards appointed by the governor.
The agencies are duplicating each other's work, Mr. Deters said, because they employ separate financial staffs and hire different lawyers to oversee various bond deals.
"The bottom line is: We have a very convoluted system," he said. "My plan would reduce bureaucracy and save money."
Mr. Deters said the governor and state legislators would have to determine which agencies should be abolished.
Gov. George Voinovich's administration commissioned a study in 1993 that made similar recommendations, but the plan was soon abandoned.
Mr. Blackwell has an idea why the plan went nowhere fast. Fewer agencies dealing with debt means less work spread out to bond firms and lawyers, he said. The plan also could end up giving the treasurer more influence over bond deals than the governor.
"The idea makes sense financially," Mr. Blackwell said. "But if I had attempted to do that, it would have been considered a power grab."
Gerald Austin, campaign consultant for Mr. Deters' Democratic opponent, Summit County Treasurer John Donofrio, used the same words to describe Mr. Deters' proposal.
"He basically wants all of state government consolidated under him," Mr. Austin said of Mr. Deters. "He probably has a number of investment banks in Cincinnati salivating over this idea." Mr. Deters said his motives aren't political. States such as Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin and Tennessee already have adopted debt consolidation plans, he said.
He also said Bob Taft, the Republican candidate for governor, and GOP legislative leaders agreed to consider the idea.
"I realize that such a proposal is politically sensitive," he said. "But I believe we should rethink old methods, make changes that make sense and save unnecessary burdens to the taxpaying public."
