Reconcile state workforce numbers

What kind of a job is state government doing in managing payroll and improving efficiency? State lawmakers tried to get a handle on it at a budget hearing Thursday, but were largely stonewalled by two embarrassingly unprepared Cabinet officers - corrections commissioner George Hayman and personnel commissioner Rolando Torres Jr.
Torres was unable to provide information about year-old proposals for cutting costs. And he couldn't reconcile his Executive Branch workforce numbers with those of federal statistics. Torres said the executive branch had shrunk from 70,231 positions to 69,011 - about 1.7 percent - last year.
Hayman, who was finally confirmed as corrections ommissioner in January after serving as acting commissioner for a year amid concerns about his fitness for the job, did nothing to dispel those concerns last week.
Even if the Legislature is serious about looking for ways to make state government more efficient - something that is far from a given - it can't make intelligent decisions if they aren't informed ones. Lawmakers need good data. They must insist that Torres, Hayman and other department heads give it to them.