Click your way to a balanced budget

For those of you who have a lot of time on your hands – and we mean A LOT of time – state Sen. Mike Kopp has the bill for you.

Kopp and state Rep. Don Marostica, both Republicans, plan to introduce a bill this year to put the state budget in all its dense, wonky glory online. Residents who are so inclined could click around in the budget to find examples of waste or places where the state could save money.

“The idea behind the bill is to let every citizen become an auditor of the state budget,” Kopp said.

Marostica, who this session is serving on the legislature’s mighty Joint Budget Committee, proposed a similar plan two years ago but it was struck down after state staffers put its price tag at about $2 million over two years.

Kopp said about 15 others states have since put their budgets online, and he said in Nebraska the cost of doing so was under $40,000.

“It’s not about a gotcha game,” Kopp said. “When you allow that many eyes to look under the hood of the car, you spot things you might not otherwise.”

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