From left: David Smith, Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, Lieutenant Governor-elect Jennifer Carroll and CFO Alex Sink. Credit: Nathan Spicer

Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, presented the report to incoming Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who accepted on behalf of incoming Gov. Rick Scott. More than 40 Floridians from the private sector, higher education and government worked six months on the report.

“We now know that the budget deficit will likely exceed $3-to-$3.5 billion and the state will owe billions more to the federal government through the unemployment compensation fund,” said Calabro, making his presentation on the Capitol's fourth floor, in front of the Senate chamber. “Now, more than ever, recommendations like these to save taxpayer dollars and contain costs are vital.”

Calabro stressed that the report transcends politics, calling it “bipartisan” and “nonpartisan.” Underscoring the point, Republicans like Carroll, Rep. Will Weatherford of Wesley Chapel, as well as state CFO Alex Sink -- the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who lost to Scott last month -- joined Calabro and the TaxWatch team to support release of the recommendations. Both Sink and Weatherford served on the task force that assembled them.

In the report, TaxWatch calls for the state to bring the public pension system more into line with practices used in the private sector; review the criminal justice and correctional systems; increase managed care in Medicaid; and reduce travel costs for state workers.

The full report is already available on TaxWatch's website.

“This report identifies how the state can cut spending without harming core services,” said Jacksonville businessman David Smith, the task force chairman. Smith, a past chairman of Florida TaxWatch, retired as chairman and CEO of PSS World Medical. “The task force has spent the last year looking under every rock to find the right kind of savings for the state.”

Smith added that the recommendations would help increase government efficiency without taking away from the services expected by Floridians.

Both Smith and Carroll stressed that the recommendations can help boost employment in the state, which remains above the national average.

“Having these recommendations will be critical to implementing our 7-7-7 plan and our jobs plan,” said Carroll, speaking on behalf of the Scott administration.

“These recommendations will not only help close the budget shortfall this year but protect Floridians from waste in state government services and programs,” said Sink.

“Many of these issues are very important to the state of Florida and I look forward to working with the House speaker and Senate president on exploring efficiency-enhancing reforms that will help trim the cost of government and benefit the taxpayers,” said Weatherford, who is in line to become House speaker after the 2012 elections.

He noted at the media event Wednesday that the recommendations could not come at a more opportune time.

“The state of Florida is at a crossroads,” said Weatherford. “You can’t walk down the street without talking to someone affected by the economy of the state of Florida.”