Infrastructure management one area where state needs to run like a business

“We have kept basically no centralized record system of the assets of our state — the buildings we own, the property we own, the cars, fleets, vehicles and airplanes that we own,” Fallin said.

The governor asked the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to compile a database of state properties. The review has identified one state-owned building that's only 20 percent occupied. Some agencies have properties that have been vacant for decades — yet the state continues to pay utility and insurance costs at those sites. In one case, the state owns hundreds of acres sitting idle.

Fallin and Shannon have both called for selling unused and underused state property and redirecting the money raised to more pressing needs. That's a good start — but only a start.

No private business could survive without closely monitoring payroll. The county assessor would never let a private citizen lose track of property. Yet state government seems to have failed at both basic managerial tasks. When it comes to infrastructure management, this is one area government should truly run like a business.