It has taken a long time, but Rhode Island leaders — confronting massive budget deficits — are beginning to “think outside the box” about slashing costs.

House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, for example, recently broached the idea of tying state aid to certain conditions — in effect, forcing local communities to run tighter ships if they want the state’s taxpayer dollars.

“One of those [requirements] may be being responsible with their health care,” said Mr. Fox.

House Speaker William Murphy agreed, and said he wants the General Assembly to explore the idea when it convenes in January.

With the state facing gargantuan deficits, local aid might be cut deeply. Some have wondered whether it makes sense to plow money into communities that, like East Providence, simply have used it to help pay for such out-of-this-world goodies as free health insurance for teachers.

One idea the Assembly should consider is to require local communities to tie into a statewide plan for health insurance for teachers, something that could sharply reduce costs for health care. Rhode Island needs to consolidate its delivery of government services in many areas; it can no longer afford the old way of doing things, including 36 separate school districts and other assorted duplicative fiefdoms for public safety and other services in the 39 cities and towns in this tiny state.

The Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, meanwhile, makes the case that the state should change laws that force communities to spend more providing services than need be. (Such laws are often the result of lobbying by business or union special interests.) The state should also require much greater transparency in union contracts, which would increase public pressure on communities to reach reasonable deals.

Also in rethinking government, members of the House Finance Committee, led by Chairman Steven Costantino, recently visited five prospering manufacturing companies around Rhode Island. They listened to company executives to find out how the General Assembly can help spur job creation, rather than drive jobs away.

These are not happy times, to say the least. But hardship can present opportunities to revisit the way things have been done, and find new ways to deliver crucial government services without so severely punishing taxpayers and driving away jobs.