Peter Hutchinson, President, Public
Strategies Group, Inc.
 Priorities of
Government: Reinventing State Budgets
Conventional thinking says there
are only two ways to balance a budget: raise taxes or cut
important services. It says budgeting is all about maintaining
the status quo. Peter Hutchinson does not subscribe to that
kind of thinking.
So, when Washington Gov. Gary Locke needed to tackle a huge
budget deficit, Peter's company, Public Strategies Group, was hired
to advise him on a revolutionary third approach: budgeting based
on results, without raising taxes. This process is called a
Priorities of Government (POG) review. Used
properly, this new budget model can lay the foundation for
responsible state spending, not only now, but in the
future - and not only in Washington, but in any state.
Instead of blindly struggling to maintain the state's existing
budget by adjusting for inflation and caseload increases, and
cutting or taxing to make up the difference, Peter asked the
Governor and his advisors to wipe the chalkboard clean and to
ask themselves four very basic questions: 1.
What is the existing and forecasted revenue? 2. What are the
essential services we must deliver to citizens? 3. How will
the state measure its progress in meeting those goals? 4.
What is the most effective way to accomplish the state's goals
with the money available?
After answering these questions, Gov. Locke prioritized
agency activities and purchased the most important ones within
existing revenue. The result was a balanced budget. Peter will
tell us this fascinating story and explain how POG can be -
and should be - implemented in many states.
Biography
Peter
Hutchinson is the president of The Public Strategies Group
Inc. (PSG) - a global firm which specializes in transforming
public bureaucracies. Peter has a strong background in
business, government and non-profit enterprises. He is well
known as a creative thinker and institutional leader.
During the 1980s, Peter was vice president, external affairs
for the Dayton Hudson Corporation (now Target Corporation) and
chair of the Dayton Hudson Foundation. Prior to founding PSG,
he served as Minnesota's Commissioner of Finance, managing the
state’s $18 billion budget.
From December 1993 to May
1997, as part of PSG’s innovative, pay-for-performance
leadership contract with the Minneapolis Public Schools, Peter
served as the designated superintendent of schools. As such he
led a system of 100 schools serving 50,000 students with a
$500 million budget. PSG won recognition for its focus on
improving student achievement and innovative management
practices.
Peter was graduated by Dartmouth College magna cum laude, Phi
Beta Kappa. He earned an MPA-UP degree from Princeton's
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and
completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard
Business School.
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