States trying to save money one penny at a time

Maintenance crews are unscrewing light bulbs in government buildings. Governors are asking agencies to cut back on color printing. Some state officials are even rationing paper clips and Post-It notes.

One penny at a time, cash-strapped state governments are trying to save hundreds, thousands or even millions of dollars by cutting back on common, everyday expenditures.

The unusual cost-saving measures illustrate the severity of the budget crises facing some states, many of which already have cut programs and payroll to help cover shortfalls collectively estimated at more than $100 billion over the current and coming fiscal years.

"Dimes and nickels add up to dollars, and dollars add up to millions," said David Adkins, a Republican state senator in Kansas who has praised the penny-pinching ideas of new Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

The Kansas governor, among other things, has asked executive branch agencies to drop the gold-embossed state seal from stationery and business cards. Switching to plain paper could save 2 cents a page.

Similar penny-wise policies abound:

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has prohibited agencies from buying new furniture or equipment and banned color printing and new magazine subscriptions.

In Idaho, legislation to change the name of Eastern Idaho Technical College to the College of Eastern Idaho has been hung up partly because of the cost of changing the stationery.

In Missouri, Senate Administrator Michael Keathley has locked up the supply cabinet to keep secretaries and interns from taking too many pens, paper clips and sticky message notes.

Rather than eliminating color copying, Missouri officials are using it for an eye-catching, cost-saving campaign: Red, orange and blue posters urge employees to conserve electricity by turning off their computers, printers and coffee pots when they go home for the day.

As part of "The Big Turn Off" conservation effort, state maintenance workers have unscrewed every third light bulb in the atriums, lobbies and halls of most government buildings. It conjures up jokes about government functioning in the dark, but officials say it could save several hundred thousand dollars.

Similarly, in the Kentucky Capitol, every other ceiling light has been turned off to save money.

Kansas House Speaker Doug Mays, a Republican, said he was surprised when the governor made a point of mentioning savings on stationery and business cards during a meeting with legislative leaders.

"This isn't usually the kind of thing governors get involved with," Mays said. "They usually stick to more global issues."

In South Carolina, Gov. Mark Sanford had a reputation while in Congress for saving money by sleeping on a futon in his office. Since taking over as governor in January, he has continued a campaign practice of reusing Post-It notes and salvaging paper clips.

Given the condition of the budget, "frugality is not a virtue, but a requirement," said Sanford spokesman Will Folks.

National associations for governors and legislators tend to focus on big budget-balancing efforts such as Medicaid cuts, tax increases and layoffs.

So the little cuts drew a chuckle from Keon Chi, a political science professor at Georgetown College in Kentucky who is tracking state budget trends for the Council of State Governments. Chi suggested some of the penny-pinching was prompted more by political than financial gain.

"Those are symbolic gestures," Chi said. "If you can fire one person, you can recover all the printing costs for one state agency. And how much money are you saving by unscrewing light bulbs?"

So far, Missouri officials report no complaints about dim lighting, but the changes have been noticed. State Archivist Ken Winn did a double-take when he walked from his office into the hall one day.

"I have a bad habit of reading while I walk," Winn said. "I can't read in the halls anymore, because they're too dark to read. It's really annoying."