Program ‘bids’ were used to craft 2013-15 budget

We rated this promise Stalled in April 2011 because the Kitzhaber administration hadn't figured out how to draw up the cost-benefit reports in a usable, comparable form. They promised to go back and make it work.

And they did.

New bid forms for each agency program were submitted in June and in September 2012, to help prepare the governor's 2013-15 proposed budget. Each program described its stated purpose, people served, delivery methods and performance measurement. Each bid form included a two-year estimate of the program's cost for the immediate future, as well as down the line.

We admit this is way wonky, even for us. We asked George Naughton, the state's chief financial officer at the Department of Administrative Services, whether these forms were that much different from reports state agencies had to submit in the past in preparation for budget time. He said yes, in three key ways.

One, the governor looks at how much the program is expected to cost in the next two years, as well as over 10 years. Two, the program needs to justify its existence by linking to a long-term goal down the line, such as the ambitious goal to make sure a certain percentage of Oregonians score degrees after high school by 2025. Three, the performance measures are for individual programs, not for the overall agency under which it is housed.

Finally, Kitzhaber said he would require these "bid" forms, or cost-benefit reports, every year but Naughton said they will be required every two years, in keeping with the budget cycle. Given their purpose, we think every other year is enough to make this a Promise Kept.