Category: Efficiency in Government
-
DPU Billing Mess: You Can’t Thrive Without Crossing the “T”
by Jon Baliles The city’s Department of Public Utilities had perhaps their worst week since the January 2025 water crisis this past week (the May boil water advisory is close) and, like the big crisis, it may last a while and require an after action report to figure out just what happened to keep it…
-
Clown Show
by James C. Sherlock Statutory powers and responsibilities do not bestow competence. The General Assembly created the Office of the State Inspector General (OSIG) within the Office of the Governor in 2011. The powers and duties of that office are defined in Code of Virginia § 2.2-309. The role focuses on detecting fraud, waste, and abuse…
-
A Solution to the Threats to Medicaid in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock Medicaid fraud is not a new issue, but it has exploded into the public consciousness as the Trump administration has taken action against it. Virtually every critique of Medicaid fraud, from both sides of the debate over how pervasive and costly it is and what to do about it, has been…
-
Sever the New Severance Policy
by Jon Baliles With all of the issues facing Richmond on a daily, monthly, and annual basis and limited funds to address them, Mayor Danny Avula has decided as City Council debates his new proposed budget, he also wants to update the city’s pay plan with a five-pound bag of sugar to sweeten and fatten…
-
Nuts & Bolts: Modernizing State Cyber-Security
At least three Virginia government entities — Albemarle County, Gloucester County, and the Office of the Attorney General — were subjected to ransomware attacks in 2025. In my most recent Oinkonomics podcast, Secretary of Finance Steve Cummings touched upon the Youngkin administration’s approach to cyber-security. — JAB Cummings: My former life was a banker. My last stop…
-
Nuts & Bolts: Modernizing State IT Systems
In my last Oinkonomics podcast, I asked former Secretary of Finance Steve Cummings to discuss the commonwealth’s travails in upgrading its financial information systems. In the glory days of Virginia journalism, reporters could have mined these remarks for a half dozen articles. Today? Government-efficiency stories don’t generate clickthroughs, so they don’t get written. — JAB…
-
Finally, a Law to Help Teachers!
by Matt Hurt This year HB568 was introduced in the General Assembly. The bill aims to reduce the amount of work required by educators to comply with the Virginia Literacy Act by leveraging technology. If enacted, this law would significantly reduce the time teachers and reading specialists spend on paperwork, allowing them to devote more time…
-
A Delinquent Water Bill Dashboard?
by Jon Baliles The City of Richmond put out a release last week touting the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) “Back on Track” program that offers any customer with an outstanding balance to sign up for a payment plan before March 31st. Both residential and commercial customers with delinquent balances can set up an interest-free…
-
Governor Youngkin’s Fiscal Legacy
Jim Bacon chats with former Finance Secretary Cummings about former Governor Glenn Youngkin’s budgetary achievements, Virginia’s economic development track record, and how well positioned the commonwealth is to survive a federal financial meltdown. Lightly edited transcript Jim Bacon: Hello, everyone. I’m Jim Bacon, and this is the Oinkonomics podcast. Whatever your feelings about Glenn…
-
Administrative Bloat in Fairfax County Schools
by Stephanie Lundquist-AroraRepublished with permission from IWFeatures Julie Perry, a high school history teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), told IW Features that she spends thousands of dollars each year on her students’ school supplies, classroom essentials, and decorations. Perry, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, argues, “Education…
-
Harrisonburg Can Do Better
by Joe Fitzgerald Someone once described GM’s Vega as a vehicle completely unencumbered by the engineering process. And then there was the country mechanic who once suggested to the driver of a Vega that they fix a particular problem by jacking up the radiator cap and driving a new car in underneath it. We’ll get…
-
Money Down a Rathole
VRE and Norfolk ‘Tide’ are big wastes of tax dollars. by Ken Reid “The Tide,” the cute name given to the 7.4 mile-Norfolk light rail now entering its 15th year of service, was dubbed in an August expose the “Worst LRT in America.” According to Hampton Roads Transit’s 2026 budget, the annual cost of operating the Tide…
-
Crime and Punishment in Virginia Nursing Homes
by James C. Sherlock The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) inspectors regularly report instances of resident abuse, including battery, occasionally resulting in death. That has persisted for decades and appears undeterred by current enforcement efforts. The Code of Virginia (Code) is partially at fault. It makes it challenging for the state, its citizens, and local…
-
Massive Infusion of Rural Healthcare Funds will be a Magnet for Waste and Fraud
by James C. Sherlock The Trump administration has announced that Virginia will receive $189,544,888 for 2026 alone to improve rural healthcare. That figure is based on an application made by the Youngkin Administration that specified how it would be spent. That is just a down payment. The Rural Health Transformation Program’s $50 billion…
-
State Govt’s Maintenance Backlog: $1.1 Billion+
An insidious form of deficit spending is deferred maintenance. Could that be a problem in Virginia? The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission took a look at state-owned buildings, valued at between $31 billion to $47 billion. The M-R FIX [database] shows that about half of state-owned buildings are almost 50 years old or older,…