Any time a state is not spending taxpayer money properly and efficiently, or when spending priorities are off kilter, elected officials should know the public is dissatisfied.

In Kentucky, that is exactly what happened.

Five years ago, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce released the “Leaky Bucket” report, which identified “leaks” in state spending in areas such as corrections/prison, public employee health insurance and Medicaid. Public pension funding – though not included in the original report – continues to worsen. Kentucky is still considered one of the worst performers in the nation in public pension funding. 

The report also indicated education was falling through the cracks of government spending. Higher education is an area of concern. Since 2012, higher education funding has decreased about 7.2 percent.

The good news is the General Assembly has made funding improvements and has taken action to plug the leaks.

One of the measures taken by the state was the passage of House Bill 463 in 2011. The bill altered drug laws and prison times for various offenses. By passing this into law, spending on corrections dropped.

Medicaid spending also decreased beginning in 2011, when the state government implemented a program in which three additional private managed-care organizations provide health coverage for about two-thirds of Medicaid patients.

The update from the “Leaky Bucket” report indicated the percentage of the state General Fund budget going to kindergarten through 12th-grade education has increased since the first report. During fiscal years 2008-10 in the biennial budget, 43.8 percent of the General Fund went toward K-12 education. The share has grown to 44.2 percent in the 2014-16 budget.

Public employee health insurance, which covers about 266,000 state employees, had grown four times faster than overall spending. From 2012-16, that spending fell to 9.6 percent, or a rate less than the growth of overall state spending. 

The update recommends wellness programs for state employees to promote better health and that these individuals contribute a “reasonable amount” toward their health insurance.

The numbers show the General Assembly has made progress to shore up these leaks.

While this is commendable, more work remains, particularly in the areas of higher education and public employee pensions.