THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 23, 1995 TAG: 9501230060
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
Two years ago, when Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. was about to begin his third term, the hot book for politicians was ``Reinventing Government: How the entrepreneurial spirit is transforming the public sector.''
Written by consultant David Osborne and former Visalia, Calif., City Manager Ted Gaebler, the book was a guide for making government more efficient by running states, cities and counties more like businesses.
Hunt was so impressed with the volume that he reportedly photocopied pages from the book's introduction to those interested in his agenda for the coming years.
This year, ``Reinventing Government'' has been replaced by a new ``must'' read for political junkies - ``Keeper of the Public Purse,'' by Harlan E. Boyles, North Carolina's treasurer.
The book, which touts the virtues of smaller government, has made Boyles, Hunt's longtime friend, a celebrity among the state's new Republican leadership:
Excerpts were reprinted in the December-January edition of the Carolina Journal, a magazine published by the John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank in Raleigh with ties to the state GOP.
When House Speaker-elect Harold J. Brubaker, a Randolph County Republican, opened a news conference earlier this month on the GOP's budget reform agenda, he cited passages from Boyles' book.
Last week, North Carolina Taxpayers United, a conservative political action committee linked to some of the state's top GOP lawmakers, named Boyles ``North Carolinian of the Year,'' an award given annually to individuals who work to protect taxpayers' interests in North Carolina.
Boyles served 16 years as deputy treasurer before being elected state treasurer in 1976, the first year Hunt was elected governor. He had cut his teeth as a tax auditor in the state Department of Revenue and, later, a staff adviser to the North Carolina Tax Study Commission, which laid the foundation for improving the state's business limit.
In his book, Boyles said he is most proud of the state's retention of its Triple-A credit rating, which it first obtained in 1960, and the modernization of the Treasury Department over the years.
But what makes Boyles' book so interesting to state lawmakers is a series of recommendations designed to revamp the state's system of government and rethink how it spends public money.
``The growth of State government, if it continues unabated at its present rate, will soon exceed the ability of our citizens to pay their taxes,'' Boyles writes in the opening chapter.
``State government has grown during the past three decades faster than our population, faster than the earnings of our people and, perhaps, faster than our need for basic and essential public services,'' he writes. ``That is because our political leaders have adopted the mentality that the most common solution to most problems is `more money.' This `more money' mentality always means higher costs for the taxpayers, but it does not always solve the problem.
``It is clear that after years of failed experiments, bigger government does not mean better government. We must abandon this notion and instead seek to make government smarter.''
The book, published by the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University, says legislative actions in the past decade dramatically increased state spending without demanding improved performance by public schools or other government agencies.
At the same time, the state was being forced to pay for programs by federal mandates, Boyles says.
His book contains seven recommendations to curb the trend toward higher taxes and spending:
Reinvent government to make it more efficient and accountable, eliminating unneeded programs.
Reform education to focus on the best interests of children instead of higher salaries for educators and revise the system by which the state governs its public schools.
Eliminate federal mandates.
Refocus economic development on new ventures like the Global TransPark.
Give voters a greater voice in government by giving citizens the power to initiate proposed constitutional amendments.
Improve the balance of power in government by giving the governor veto power.
Make government work to reverse the cynicism about government among citizens.
If all of this sounds familiar, it's because several of Boyles' suggestions are similar to the Republican Reform Agenda, the eight-point contract signed by most of the Republican candidates for the General Assembly in October.
Boyles' staff at the treasurer's office in Raleigh said he did not foresee that his book would become such a hot topic among the capital's political circles, he just wanted to do something to help the business school's lecture series, which carries his name.
Appalachian State University in Boone is rushing more copies of the book to press to keep up with the increasing demand, and it is not yet widely available in eastern North Carolina book stores. ILLUSTRATION: BOYLES' BOOK
``Keeper of the Public Purse,'' available in paperback, is
published by Appalachian State University, P.O. Box 1900, Boone,
N.C. 28608, telephone (704) 262-2922. In Raleigh, copies of the book
are available at Village Book at Cameron Village for $12.95. Local
book stores may be able to order the book using ISBN 0-9634559-1-5.
All proceeds from sales of the book go to ASU's business school
lecture series.
by CNB