Panel named to root out waste in state government

Raleigh, N.C. — Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed a commission Thursday to find ways to cut waste and increase efficiency in state government.

Norris Tolson and Hilda Pinnix-Ragland will chair the Budget Reform and Accountability Commission. Tolson is a former state secretary of revenue, transportation and commerce who now heads the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and Pinnix-Ragland is vice president of corporate public affairs for Progress Energy and chairwoman of the State Board of Community Colleges.

“This group can help me root out inefficient spending and outdated programs and bring greater accountability to state government,” Perdue said in a statement.

The commission’s first task will be to conduct a detailed review of the state’s entire continuation budget to identify inefficiencies and develop options for cuts and consolidations, she said.

Other members of the commission are as follows:

Norma Houston, a lecturer in public law and government at the University of North Carolina School of Government who previously was chief of staff and general counsel to state Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight and an assistant attorney general

Dan Gerlach, the senior budget adviser to former Gov. Mike Easley and current president of North Carolina Golden LEAF, an economic development foundation

Curtis Clark, an IBM executive who previously served as executive director of the North Carolina Statewide Performance Audit, deputy state controller for information resource management and director of the Performance Audit Division of the State Auditor’s Office

Charlie Sanders, chairman of the National Institute of Health and retired chairman and chief executive of Glaxo Inc.

Ron Penny, professor and chairman of the Department of Public Administration at North Carolina Central University and assistant to the university provost who previously served as director of the Office of State Personnel

32 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 32 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

I will take the job and in one year I will cut the work force by half and the other half would wake up and go to work. I work with the state on some jobs and the wast of manhours is so bad it is crazy.

dplowman
March 27, 2009 1:44 p.m.

This same move has been done over and over with new governors. They think this move makes them look "efficient" with their electorate when in reality here's more folks who'll do nothing. As a retired state employee, I worked for a division that has already been cut to the bone, has lost 50% of their field regulatory people and has no "excess." I get tired of newly elected officials singing this same song. And, especially this newly elected official. Dizzying lack of sense!

ribbons55
March 26, 2009 7:27 p.m.

AGAIN, they aren't being paid ANYTHING to do this.

exteacher
March 26, 2009 6:16 p.m.

How much are THEY being paid to do this?

I remember years ago, then CP&L hired an "efficiency expert" to come in to evaluate everything.

Their fee cost more than they saved the company and didn't tell the company anything their own employees couldn't have told them.

God bless.

RB

Spirit Warrior Woman - Rev. RB
March 26, 2009 6:01 p.m.

Start weeding out waste by removing Perdue, she takes stimulus money destined for education and law enforcement and has the nerve to talk layoff of teachers and police, our lottery is for the schools and she wants to redirect those funds ?? WE VOTED AND THIS IS NOT HOW THE CITIZENS EXPET OUR POLITICIANS TO RESPOND - TOSS THEM ALL ON THE STREET and replace our Govt. with Americans instead of Communist, Marxist and Socialist Pawns who CLAIM TO BE AMERICAN WHILE THEY ROB AND RAPE US.