Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen has announced that his office is expected to cut $2 million in wasteful spending by the end of his current term.
Allen noted that the significant drop reflects a commitment made to Alabamians during his first days as secretary.
“When I was inaugurated as Alabama’s Secretary of State, I promised that I would never forget that I work for the people of this state and not the other way around,” Allen said. “I’m focused on the fact that the money that funds this office does not belong to us. It belongs to the taxpayers of Alabama and we should be diligent about the manner in which we spend every dime.”
Allen explained in detail where the drop in wasteful spending is occurring and also revealed how it is being trimmed.
“By examining our expenditures through the lens of fiscal responsibility and applying common sense, I am pleased to report the Office of Secretary of State will eliminate over $2 million dollars in taxpayer funds by the end of my term. This may come as a surprise to many people because we have been able to achieve this without diminishing the quality or quantity of services provided to the citizens of Alabama.”
- By decreasing the advertising budget for Alabama’s Photo Voter ID program, Alabamians will save $1.2 million by the end of Allen’s term leaving sufficient resources for the program to accomplish its stated goal of ensuring that Alabama citizens are aware of our state’s voter photo ID requirement.
- In 2024, Allen pushed for legislation to eliminate an annual business filing requirement that unnecessarily burdened small business owners while charging a fee for this pointless exercise. With the help of State Representative Margie Wilcox (R-Mobile) and State Senator David Sessions (R-Grand Bay), and Governor Ivey’s signature, he eliminated a headache for business owners that will result in an approximate reduction of $690,000 over 3 years.
- Utilized existing team members to train Alabama’s Boards of Registrars rather than outsourcing that responsibility to an outside vendor, taxpayers will realize savings in excess of $360,000 by January 2027.
- Identified internet services and equipment that the Office of Secretary of State was subsidizing and were not being used. Allen cancelled them, saving taxpayers approximately $105,000 over the next 18 months.
- Eliminated the Office’s paid internship program which results in a 4-year savings of nearly $79,000.
The Secretary believes that a ‘little commons sense’ is all that is needed to lessen the unnecessary spending.
“I came into office with the mindset that every dollar that was spent needed to be examined to ensure three things,” continued Allen. “First, that the expenditure makes sense. Second, that the expenditure was necessary. Third, that the result of the expenditure could not be achieved in a more efficient and less expensive way.”
“By applying those three standards, my office will eliminate in excess of $2 million in expenditures that did not meet the three-prong test.”
Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
