What we may have here is failure to communicate
9:53 AM Tue, Nov 13, 2007 | Permalink
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In a published interview last week, Governor Carcieri’s communication director, Steve Kass, was quoted as saying there are already enough people in government to study what the state is getting out of the millions of dollars in tax breaks it has awarded over the years. He said the governor has “no intention” of filling any new tax analyst jobs. Going a step farther in the interview, published by the Warwick Beacon, Kass said: “Why doesn’t the General Assembly have some of their budget people, who work six months of the year, study them … instead of going out there improving their golf handicaps?” The interview was published on the same day Carcieri named Gary S. Sasse, the longtime director of the business-backed Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, as the first, $130,000-a-year director of the new state Department of Revenue. The agency, created by lawmakers in 2006, wraps together the Lottery, Registry and Division of Taxation with new offices of property valuation and revenue analysis. One of the principal missions of the new revenue-analysis office is to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of the many tax breaks the General Assembly has awarded targeted groups over the years in an effort to keep wealthy “decision-makers” from moving out of state, for example, or spur job production, historic preservation, TV and movie filming and the siting of businesses in poor neighborhoods that for special-benefit purposes are called “enterprise zones.” And Sasse — with the governor’s backing — said he was actively recruiting staff to help him do just this kind of tax-incentive and revenue analysis. So where was Kass coming from? Kass did not respond directly to inquiries about who specifically he had in mind when he talked about General Assembly employees spending half their year playing golf. Nor did he respond to questions about when he learned of Carcieri’s commitment to hiring a director and staff for the new agency. But Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal, who works under Kass, a former radio talk show host, said: “Mr. Kass believed he was responding to a more general question about the efficacy of tax breaks that are approved by the General Assembly.” “I would note that, while we have selected Gary Sasse as the new director of the Department of Revenue, we have not yet selected a person to head that specific office. However, I know that Mr. Sasse has already begun that process and plans to vigorously study all these tax issues.” Among the follow-up questions posed by Political Scene: “Is the administration committed to hiring a director and staff for the revenue analysis division — or not? Was he [Kass] perhaps confused about — or opposed to — the administration’s intent to pursue these hirings in the broader context of layoffs?” Neal’s answer: “As I stated … and as I believe Mr. Sasse informed you, Mr. Sasse has already begun the process of hiring for that.” Needless to say, House Finance Committee Chairman Steven Costantino, D-Providence, was not happy. Calling Kass’ comment about golf “an unfair statement,” he said, “I know that, particularly in the House Finance Committee, dedicated public servants spend more time in this building some nights than they do in their own homes.” As for Carcieri’s hiring of a new $130,000 director and staff amid looming layoffs, Costantino said: ‘You’ve made a small investment by adding these. If in the long run they are able to maximize our revenue, it will be worth the investment.” --By Katherine Gregg, Steve Peoples and Scott MacKay 
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