How to Avoid Death by a 1,000 "Cuts"

“Death by a thousand cuts” is a phrase used to describe how something can be slowly destroyed by many small problems rather than one major failure.

This idea also applies to government budgets.

As I’ve discussed before, good policy — and consistently applying it throughout government — protects taxpayers’ wallets. Bad policy, on the other hand, can quietly become very expensive.

Sometimes the difference comes down to small policy decisions made by elected officials. Those decisions determine who ultimately pays for a service.

Idaho law allows the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to set fees for certain services. One example is juvenile and adult probation services. Counties are legally allowed to charge fees to individuals on probation to help cover the cost of monitoring them.

Currently, however, we are not seeking the maximum amount allowed by law. That means taxpayers are covering a larger portion of the cost.

This is a good example of how small policy differences can have real financial impacts. The question becomes simple:

Who should pay for a service — the taxpayer, or the person who is using the service and creating the expense for the county?

Below is a video of the discussion about whether to establish fees for parents whose children are placed on juvenile probation. Judges ultimately have discretion to determine how much should be charged, but they won't if the fee is not already established.