CARNAHAN FACES WIDE RANGE OF PROBLEMS

Based on the number of times he mentioned the subject during the recent campaign, and because its high priority is constitutionally mandated, it's reasonable to assume that the first order of business for the next governor of Missouri will be increased public funding for local school districts.

In fact, Governor-elect Mel Carnahan could declare, with considerable evidence to substantiate the claim, that he received a mandate Nov. 3 to carry out that assignment.

Noting this fact is an earlier piece ("Agenda For Carnahan"), we also cautioned that the next governor faced daunting challenges in raising the level of financing for higher education, creating new employment opportunities in a state that ranks right at the bottom of the list in retaining jobs, and addressing a growing health insurance void for an alarmingly large number of our citizens.

And to round out a mind-boggling list of needs, we noted the increasing inability of Missouri's largest metropolitan areas to control drug-induced crime in the streets.

Lt. Gov. Carnahan undoubtedly had a headache when he finished reading such a priority list, but, unfortunately, the list was not complete. Space prevented an accounting of other problems across Missouri that cry out for study, funding and action. Let's examine other needs in the state that, although not on the earlier list, nevertheless are extremely important to hundreds of thousands, even millions of Missouri citizens.

WELFARE: First, a few facts to establish the urgency of this problem: Our state ranks 38th in AFDC and food stamp reimbursement; 47th in Medicaid coverage; 29th in the number of children living below the poverty line; 44th in reimbursement rates for day care; and 50th in per capita spending on children's programs.

One could say, with little fear of contradiction, that Missouri should be doing better in support assistance programs, particularly those concerned with children. Our new governor should identify programs that are suffering from the greatest neglect and immediately target them for whatever additional funds can be located within the budget.

Secondly, he should insist that the Department of Social Services comb other states for innovative programs that meet welfare challenges, projects such as the one now going on in New York with AFDC. There are a number of states that are rewriting public assistance programs with an eye toward cutting costs while ending restric~ive rules that only serve to harm needy clients.

Missouri can be in the forefront in trying new programs that successfully protect the public purse while expanding public benefits. Why hold on to programs that, while costly, fail to meet the needs of those who desperately need assistance?

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: The new governor should take a hands-on approach in this field simply because more effective economic programs solve several problems, not the least being the state's declining quality of life in small towns and large cities alike.

A statewide commission composed of private sector experts should examine new ways for Missouri to utilize its natural resources, including our agricultural products, converting them into finished products. What the state produces should also be processed for final use so that our citizens receive the fullest possible benefit.

For example, Missouri produces some of the finest cotton grown anywhere, yet the crop is sent to other states where it is converted to finished products, devaluing the huge total potential worth of just this one farm commodity. There are countless other examples, including the failure of the state to utilize its timber, sending the wood to other states for conversion to furniture.

MENTAL HEALTH: Although the policy is still unpublicized, Missouri made a conscious decision a couple of years ago to dismantle its existing facility-system and rely on federal funds to place patients in private-care centers.

This was a financial decision, hurried along by a lack of general revenue, but its failure, in the event of federal abandonment, would be devastating. The new governor should examine these policies, while insisting that more funds be directly spent on clinical care for drug and alcohol abuse treatment units. Unfortunately, the state now relies almost not at all on hundreds of citizens with a direct stake in improved care who serve on local and regional advisory councils.

ORGANIZATION: A prudent move by the next chief executive would be to order a hiring freeze on all new employees until a labor study could be made. Full personnel utilization ought to be an unbending demand by the executive office, which should also call for a review of how state agencies are permitted to obligate future taxpayers through long-term building leases.

The state is making certain commercial developers extremely rich by allowing agencies to lease new buildings, drawn to their specifications, and avoid capital improvement appropriations from the General Assembly. Such a process only serves to reduce the amount of general revenue available for essential programs in the future. In addition, the state should consider a plan that calls for the construction of one large office building to house numerous agencies that now have their own separate offices in every one of our 114 counties.

GOVERNMENTS: Too many of our counties are operating too many months in the red each year and too many have had to turn to a regressive sales tax just to pay courthouse light bills and law enforcement gasoline tickets.

The state can assist counties by reducing demands on these units, permitting them to free up a declining tax base to finance life-support systems and programs. Missouri should also be more closely involved in helping reduce crime throughout the state but particularly in the urban areas.

To reassure taxpayers, the governor-elect should end the sleight-of-hand "core budget" process which permits agencies to receive much of their money without close legislative review and even "grandfathers" in programs that are no longer needed or useful. Although it was promised two decades ago, the state has never had a zero-based budget. It should. Taxpayers deserve nothing less.

Honest, we're not trying to discourage Mel Carnahan from taking office. We're just trying to remind Missourians of the challenges he, along with all the rest of us, now face.