Gary Sasse

Journal files / Kathy Borchers

PROVIDENCE — After 30 years as an outside commentator on government tax policy and spending, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council’s Gary Sasse is moving inside as the first $130,000-a-year director of the state’s new Department of Revenue.

The announcement was made official a day after RIPEC officially announced Sasse’s imminent departure as its executive director.

Announcing the selection yesterday, Governor Carcieri said, “Over the last 30 years, Gary has worked with governors and legislators from both sides of the political aisle to address Rhode Island’s fiscal problems.

“Gary’s experience, knowledge and dedication will be a tremendous asset as we try to deal with the state’s looming budget shortfall,” and “like me, Gary is devoted to making sure that state government is operated on a sustainable basis, and that it is a benefit, not a burden, to Rhode Island taxpayers.”

In a brief interview, Sasse, 65, of East Greenwich, said, “It’s a challenge being the first director of an agency that can make a major contribution to improving the fiscal health of the state.”

Created by lawmakers last year, the Department of Revenue is an amalgam of three existing revenue-raising agencies — taxation, motor vehicles and the Lottery — that each have their own directors; a new property-valuation division; and a new office of revenue analysis.

Among its missions: to analyze whether targeted tax credits are accomplishing the goals for which they were created, such as new-job creation. If they are not, “that represents a choice that’s being made that takes away from the state being able to do other things,” Sasse said.RIPEC is a government research organization largely financed by contributions from Rhode Island’s employers and nonprofit community. With Sasse at the helm since 1977, RIPEC has produced reams of data on big-ticket government spending programs, such as Medicaid, and a running commentary on state and municipal tax and spending policies.

Well-grounded in public policy and attuned to shifts in political winds, Sasse has been involved in crafting solutions to some of the state’s momentous financial problems, including the near-bankruptcy of the City of Providence in the early 1980s and the state banking collapse in the early 1990s. And his policy bent and view of politics as the art of the possible led state leaders to consult him on a wide spectrum of topics, including overhauling the state welfare system, changes to education and medical programs, constitutional reforms and state gambling policies.

Governors, mayors and legislators of both parties have also sought Sasse’s views on tax, spending and bonding issues.

From time to time, his advice has been controversial as, for example, when he was talking in 1993 about how to find the $265 million deemed necessary at that time to launch a proposal, dubbed “Guaranteed Student Entitlement,” that was aimed at equalizing how much each community spent on education. How could Rhode Island raise $265 million? Sasse’s answer at the time: increase either the state sales tax (which, at 7 percent, was already one of the highest in the country, though it does not apply to many items taxed in other states, such as clothing) or the state income tax.

Also controversial: RIPEC’s more recent opposition to the proposed Harrah’s-Narragansett Indian casino deal that lawmakers placed on the ballot last year, before nailing down key details, including the state’s share of the revenue. “We opposed it because we didn’t think it was a good deal financially for the state,” Sasse explained again yesterday.

The job posting for the new director of revenue describes the position as “a key advisor to the Governor on issues related to tax strategy, tax policy and revenue,” with a “clear focus on revenue analysis and enhancement for the State.” Among the minimum qualifications: “a Master’s or other post-graduate degree in Accounting, Economics, Business Administration or a related field” and a minimum of 10 years experience in “a responsible high-level supervisory and management capacity.”

Sasse has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Florida State University.

As the executive director of RIPEC since 1977, Sasse has been responsible for developing and promoting what he describes as an “applied research and public education program for a broad range of fiscal, public policy and organizational issues.” He took a six-month leave to serve as then-Governor-elect Bruce Sundlun’s fiscal adviser from November 1990 through the tumultuous start of the Sundlun era, which opened with a credit union crisis and a yawning $265-million current-year deficit. He later coordinated Republican Governor-elect Lincoln Almond’s transition team.

Sasse also did stints as staff director of the Governor’s Commission to Study the Financial Operations of State and Local Government; chairman of the Blue Ribbon Commission to Modernize the Rhode Island General Assembly; and co-chair of the Goals 2000 Panel, which developed an “education reform strategy” for Rhode Island. Most recently, he helped lawmakers craft what they called the Property Tax Reduction Act of 2006.

Earlier, he served as the assistant chief administrative officer and deputy director of finance and administration for the City of Memphis, Tenn. He also was director of the Tennessee Office of Urban and Federal Affairs and a member of the Governor’s Senior Staff.

Advertisements for the new top-level job elicited approximately 20 applications after they ran in a variety of forums last spring, including The Federation of Tax Administrators’ newsletter, The National Association of State Budget Officers’ and the Council of State Governments’ employment Web site.

As of mid-October, however, Department of Administration Director Beverly Najarian said the top aide doing the recruiting had not yet “successfully identified the appropriate and/or interested candidate.”

Sasse plans to leave RIPEC at the end of this year. His nomination to his new job is subject to Senate confirmation.

kgregg@projo.com