Concord – House Republican Leader Gene Chandler offered the following statement relative to concern voiced by leaders in the State Senate that state agencies may be overspending, and creating growing budget deficits as a result, while Governor Hassan and agency heads refuse to meet with budget writers to open the books and discuss the concern, citing, “incomplete information.”
“It may take time to count every penny, but when we’re in a potential crisis situation, we owe it to the people of New Hampshire to have an open and frank discussion on what appears to be a significant budget problem. We are, after all, elected to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and our citizens expect some level of transparency and accountability within our state government.”
“Every leader of every state agency should have some idea how their balance sheet will shape up, whether or not it’s finalized. They do not operate in the dark. I would hope that the Governor would allow the agency heads to meet with the legislature and comply with a simple and reasonable request to discuss how their agency is performing with the resources we’ve allocated to them. Kicking the can down the road will only lead to future budget problems.”