Fiscal Responsibility

By Jeffrey C. Dahlander

Position on budget reform.

You might be surprised by the number of issues facing the Commonwealth that stem from the mismanagement of funds by poor leadership. There are excellent proposals that have already been presented that can ease the impact of budget cuts on the people of our communities. In my former career as an administrator in the university setting, we faced budget cuts every year. Yet, every time, the various presidents that I worked with suggested to the staff that the cuts would not affect the students' development or success.

So, as concerned educators, what did we do? We trimmed our budgets in creative ways so that the student experience could remain the same. We worked harder with fewer resources. If something didn't make sense to us, we meticulously evaluated its rationale before considering cutting it. In the end, the students did not feel the negative impact that they could have felt otherwise. I believe that the same rule should apply to the people of the Commonwealth.

I will bring a common sense voice to the budget conversation as your representative.