Hey Dave, do you also want to mention the funding source differences and how the Olympia Politicians are raping the agency by cutting the agency 20% when the General Funding source only represents 35% - 40%, Robertson/Pitman (Federal Excise Tax) 15% - 20%, and Our Licenses/Fees are 35% - 40%. They should only be cutting the General Fund Source 20%, NOT the entire funding sources.

That overhead mismanagement thing really rubs my azz raw, as an example that Dave mentioned, Financial Management (State Level Department) levies a Fee of 15% on all agencies transactions, yet provides NO FINANCIAL ANALYSIS SERVICES, so the agency hires Financial Analyst FTE in leau of hiring hatchery technicians or LEO's. And that 15% Overhead fee is on all transaction, not just general fund transactions. As an example, you foolishly go out last year and buy that $3.00 Crab Catch Record card, the Financial Management at the State Level collects $.45 of that $3.00 fee. It goes on ad nauseum.

Here's an idea that maybe is ripe for doing, raise all our Licenses and Fees to a point that a General Fund source is NOT needed. When an agency dips into or depends upon a General Fund, it also accepts all the General Funding un-necessary gouging. The idea here is to make the WDFW Self Sufficient/Self Financing agency. A classic example is my old employer, a Federal Agency that does not take a single dime of taxpayer money, the BPA. It actually works quite well and the PNW enjoys the lowest cost of electricity per kilowatt hour in North America.

The most important advantage of self financing is that the ONLY stakeholder would be us, the License/Fee buyers in the State. The tree huggers and granola snackers in Seattle could kiss our big hairy Butts.