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6/29/2011

Retirement funds are secure; I am committed to full funding

Last August, I asked the Auditor of Public Accounts to conduct an audit of the Kentucky Retirement System (KRS) because of my concerns regarding the management and accountability of the retirement system. This week, Auditor Crit Luallen released that audit, and I am pleased that she found that the substantial investments that support city, county, and state employees as well as thousands of retirees are secure.

However, as I suspected, there are improvements which can and should be made to this system. The Auditor's recommendations to improve transparency and accountability are well-reasoned and should be implemented quickly.

More than 318,000 current and retired public employees depend on this system to protect and manage their retirement funds wisely and ethically. It’s an enormous responsibility, and I am committed to ensuring that the KRS board operates in a trustworthy, transparent and accountable manner.

The Board has recently made changes in its leadership and executive staff, which I support. I am encouraged that the new Board chair has already agreed with the audit's findings and has begun implementing many of the audit's recommendations.

The Auditor’s report also strongly recommends that the state should meet its obligations for funding the pension system. I could not agree more. One of my top priorities is to continue fully funding the system pursuant to the comprehensive pension reform solution I pushed for and signed after the 2008 special session. In that special session, we reformed employee benefits for future hires, improved system governance, sought out innovative solutions to retiree healthcare, and, most importantly, arrived at a payment schedule for getting the systems’ funding back on track. The legislation created a path for solvency for the pension system, and I remain committed to maintaining the system’s funding.

My ultimate objective for the system continues to be the protection and satisfactory growth of the funds for the benefit of hundreds of thousands of current and retired public employees. You have worked hard for your retirement funds, and I will protect the commitments we have made to our employees and retirees. I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure a legacy of common sense reform and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Posted at 3:38 PM by Steve Beshear | Permalink | Email this Post | Category: Budget; Transparency

1/7/2011

Opening the Door

Now, more than ever, taxpayers deserve to know exactly how their dollars are being spent by state government.

That is why, two years ago, my administration created an on-line transparency portal, www.opendoor.com. Open Door includes a searchable database of all expenditures and contracts, including:

• Copies of current contracts.

• Salary and state property searches.

• Details on Executive Branch Ethics and the Open Records process.

• Searches for local, state, and federal officials.

• And a variety of information sources including GIS maps, interactive budget charts and important state financial documents.

Kentucky’s Open Door Web site has repeatedly been in the national spotlight as a leading public resource for openness and civic engagement.

Last June, The Center for Study of Responsive Law, a nonprofit organization that researches government and corporate accountability, recognized Kentucky as a national leader for transparency in state contracts.

Last April, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group gave Kentucky the highest rating for openness in government.

Recognizing the importance of keeping taxpayers informed, the Judicial Branch of state government decided last January to join Open Door, and it now posts on-line all of its expenditures and contract data information.

I invited the General Assembly to do the same. So far it hasn’t.

But it’s not too late.

Recently, some legislators have once again expressed interest in this area.

Given that, on Thursday I wrote a letter to legislative leaders again inviting the Legislative Branch to join the Executive Branch, Judicial Branch and all of Kentucky’s constitutional officers to voluntarily make contract and spending information available on Kentucky’s existing online transparency portal, Open Door.

Good legislation in this area would always be welcome, but the new system as proposed by some is unnecessary, and would be costly to the public.

Instead, the Legislative Branch could join the existing nationally recognized Open Door portal in short order at no additional cost to taxpayers. We would be the first state where all three branches of government used the same portal.

I encourage officials to do so immediately.

Taxpayers deserve to know where their money is being spent.

Posted at 11:09 AM by Steve Beshear | Permalink | Email this Post | Category: Transparency