Article Tools

• Bookmark

Advertisement

Most Popular News

• Accurately measuring pay in the public sector
• Government spending legislation aims to audit GSA each year
• Investigations could lead to tighter controls on agency spending

Know before you buy or sell. Get your truck's value instantly online.

Find Your Truck Now

*To see the actual values, you must purchase a subscription or a single-vehicle lookup.

Of some $1.24 trillion in spending proposed in fiscal year 2011 state budgets, $77.6 billion is designated for the departments of justice, public safety and homeland security across the country, according to a report INPUT released in May to highlight state governors' FY 2011 proposed budgets. The INPUT report focuses on public safety spending and related information technology (IT) initiatives outlined in the state budgets.

The $77.6 billion encompasses all public safety, police, fire, homeland security, corrections, courts and judicial departments at the state level. More than half of the money ($46.5 billion) will be spent on corrections. With an increase in the recidivism rate and a decrease in jail space, corrections departments most likely will not have enough money to ensure a sound year.

Regarding courts and judicial departments, $14.9 billion is estimated for FY 2011. Ten states, including California, Colorado and New York, had budgets of $400 million or more. Some of the initiatives associated with these budgets include facility expansion, improvements/enhancements to case management systems, and increasing courtroom technology, such as video recording.

In addition, public safety departments will most likely see tightened budgets while facing other obstacles, such as outdated technology and lack of personnel. These circumstances, coupled with unforeseen events, can make it difficult for public safety agencies to budget adequately. Given the dynamics of keeping the public safe, the departments have composed budgets totaling $14.6 billion. This represents 1.2% of all FY 2011 spending. California, New York and Texas had the highest budgets, totaling more than $4.7 billion. Presumably, the trends of yesterday will continue to flourish today, tomorrow and into the near future. These trends include officer safety, enforcement, detection, interoperable communications and information sharing.

Looking ahead to analyze these upcoming spending levels can be helpful as governments develop budgets, pipelines and grant proposals looking ahead to next year.

The fiscal landscape

To understand the significance of these proposed budgets and the impact they will have on state initiatives, let's look at the current fiscal landscape. In March 2010, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a state budget update providing information on all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The report is based on data provided by legislative fiscal directors and includes information on state revenue performance, revenue outlook for FY 2011 and projections of future budget gaps.

For FY 2010, state budget gaps are primarily due to revenue shortfalls and overruns in various programs, such as Medicaid and Corrections. In FY 2010, 28 states experienced budget spending overruns, with six states experiencing an overrun in correctional spending. This overrun is important to note considering correctional departments are expected to spend nearly $46.5 billion in FY 2011, which amounts to nearly 3.7% of FY 2011 spending.

Areas of concern include correctional health programs and a general increase in the number of inmates. With an increase in the ratio of inmates to jail space, agencies will be looking to utilize other means of incarceration, such as electronic monitoring of non-violent offenders. The use of this technology not only frees up space but also provides another revenue source for states, since many electronic monitoring programs are paid for by the inmate.