Patrick McSweeney


 

 

 

McSweeney Defends Column,

Scolds Warner administration


 

Editor's note: Last edition, Patrick McSweeney chided the Warner administration for failing to provide information to the House of Delegates regarding anticipated savings from IT reform. ("Time to Come Clean," March 29, 2004.) Elsewhere in this issue, Deputy Secretary of Technology Eugene Huang rebuts McSweeney's charges ("IT Savings Are Coming," April 12, 2004).

 

McSweeney responds to Huang as follows:

 

Now I understand why we need a secretary of technology, a deputy secretary of technology and a director of the Virginia Information Technology Agency (with a $175,000 a year salary). To respond to my op-ed.

 

What Mr. Huang cleverly omits is the reporting requirements of House Resolution 12 and House Resolution 13, calling on the Governor and all executive agencies to provide information to the House of Delegates concerning potential cost savings. To date, there has been no response to either resolution. The administration has time to respond to me but refuses to answer the inquiries of a coordinate branch of government. H.R. 12 and 13 were prompted by the lack of responsiveness in the documents Mr. Huang refers to.

 

Legislators have a right to know about the IT reorganization and potential for cost savings in detail.  Unfortunately, the only way for legislators to obtain such information without adding expensive, duplicative staff of their own is to request it from the Warner administration. Obviously, the administration has decided to continue playing hide the pea.

 

If the state can ultimately realize $100 million a year in IT savings and another $900 million in savings in other areas covered by the Wilder Commission recommendations (as Gov. Mark R. Warner acknowledged last year), this should be considered in determining the need for a tax hike, which continues indefinitely. Will we need an extra $1 billion in revenues after the savings are effected?  I don't think so.

 

-- April 12, 2004

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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