Mark Duncan / AP

Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper Bryan Dail records times for speeders on Ohio Route 2 near Vermilion, Ohio. While Ohio still aggressively uses aircraft to catch speeders, many states have cut back or eliminated aerial enforcement due to budget concerns.

NEW YORK -- Highway signs throughout New York warn that when it comes to catching speeders, the long arm of the law extends even into the sky. "State Police aircraft used in speed enforcement," they say.

Actually, lead-footed drivers hitting the interstates for the Independence Day holiday can keep their eyes on the road. The New York State Police, who once routinely used planes to clock motorists, haven't written a single ticket in that manner since at least 2005.

"It hasn't been entirely eliminated," Sgt. Kern Swoboda, a state police spokesman, said of the signs. "We still have the airplanes."

But in these budget-conscious times, he said, launching aircraft to catch speeders just isn't fiscally prudent.

New York is one of several states to scale back the use of aircraft for traffic enforcement in recent years because of budget cuts or concerns about cost-effectiveness.

Typically, aerial enforcement programs involve a plane, a pilot, a spotter to time vehicles as they travel between lines painted on the road and several cruisers to pull people over and issue tickets.

"That ain't cheap," Swoboda said. He added that updated laser technology now allows a trooper on the ground to get speed readings over long distances and in heavy traffic — two situations where aircraft used to be superior.

"So what better way to do it than have three guys at a U-turn?" Swoboda said. "We found that it was far more efficient, and a lot less expensive."

A full accounting of which law enforcement agencies have curtailed the use of aircraft for speed enforcement was unavailable, but the list includes some states that had previously made robust use of the tactic.

The California Highway Patrol still has 15 planes used to catch speeders, but spokeswoman Fran Clader said that as the department's annual air operations budget has dropped from about $12 million to $8 million, aircraft became more focused on supporting searches and pursuits.

"We still enforce speed with the fixed-wing aircraft but in a much-reduced capacity," she said.

The Virginia State Police launched an aggressive aerial speed enforcement program in 2000 but largely abandoned regular patrols after 2007. Last year, it flew only one such mission, which resulted in tickets being given to 20 drivers, the department said. It flew four missions the year before, none in 2009 and only one in 2008.

"Due to economic conditions and mandated budget cuts ... we've had to look at cost savings," said department spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

She said it cost about $150 per hour to operate the planes — a figure that includes fuel and maintenance but not manpower. In the past, she said, the speed enforcement flights were paid for with federal grants. But with less federal money coming in lately, resources have been focused on keeping troopers on the road.

The Washington State Patrol's aviation section, which had been participating in roughly 13,500 traffic stops per year, had to scale back after suffering a $1.4 million budget cut over a two-year period that began in 2009, according to unit commander Lt. Jim Nobach. It lost three pilots, who had to return to road duties. Flight hours were slashed by 39 percent. As a result, aircraft are now stopping 5,000 fewer drivers per year.

Planes are still getting a big workout spotting speeders in Ohio and Florida.

Last year, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said it issued more than 16,000 speeding tickets based on aircraft observations, down only a little from a five-year high of 18,000 written in 2009. Over the Memorial Day weekend, the start of the busy summer travel season, the agency had 10 aircraft in the air doing traffic enforcement, according to Lt. Randy Boggs, the unit's commander.

Florida's Highway Patrol has eight aircraft and eight pilots, who issue approximately 30,000 citations per year, said the patrol's chief pilot, Capt. Matthew Walker. He said he hadn't suffered budget cuts.

When done right, air patrols have distinct advantages, Boggs and Walker insisted. From the air, it's easier to see the ultra-aggressive drivers who change lanes erratically, follow too close, and pose the greatest hazard on the road. Officers on the ground don't have to race around for miles to spot violations.

"It's very efficient," Boggs said.

Ohio tries to keep the cost of flights down by flying smaller planes and having the pilot clock drivers, rather than use a second spotter. Boggs pegged the fuel and maintenance cost of flying at $111 per hour.

The Pennsylvania State Police have continued to use aircraft to catch speeders too, issuing 560 citations last year, but now the program faces new limitations.

This year, in a cost-cutting move, the department stopped using two of the three airports where its six fixed-wing aircraft had been based. The force is also operating with just three airplane pilots, down from as many as 10 in previous years, said Sgt. Joseph Joynes, supervisor of the aviation patrol's fixed-wing unit. That means the state now has twice as many planes as people capable of flying them.

Additionally, fewer spots in Pennsylvania have the necessary road markings used for enforcement, as the old lines have been covered over by new pavement and never replaced, said Joynes.

It isn't clear yet whether the changes will lead to fewer citations. Joynes said aircraft are still flying traffic enforcement missions two to three times a week.

"If you are just looking at cost, obviously, the trooper on the ground with a radar gun is way cheaper," he said. But he added that he thought the program was still worthwhile, given the ability of aircraft to spot reckless drivers in areas where traditional speed traps aren't feasible.

Other states have come to the opposite conclusion.

Alabama lawmakers instituted aerial speed enforcement in 1990, and the Alabama Highway Patrol still touts the program on its website. But aviation unit Cpl. Kent Smith said the tactic hasn't actually been used for years.

"It's just not cost-effective," he said.

In many places where speed enforcement by aircraft has tapered off, law enforcement air wings have remained busy conducting surveillance, tracking crime suspects, searching for missing people, and spotting marijuana farms from the air.

Police officials in Virginia, California and New York were unable to provide an estimate of how much money had been saved by the shift away from aerial speed enforcement.

In the meantime, workers have been gradually removing the aircraft speed enforcement warning signs along the New York State Thruway. About 11 still remained in June, a Thruway spokesman said. 

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  Funding from local governments’ two biggest sources -- state aid and property taxes -- fell for the first time since 1980, according to a report released this month by the Pew American Cities Project. The decrease in funding from these two sources has forced many local areas to cut expenses significantly. Relying on the Pew report, 24/7 Wall St. identified eight states slashing local funding to cities, towns, counties and school districts.

24/7 Wall St.’s independent analysis of data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the U.S. Census Bureau indicates states that cut funding the most had budgets that were particularly hard hit during this period. Some suffered budget shortfalls that forced them to cut spending. Others experienced drops in tax revenue that prompted the same response.

Of the eight states with the highest cuts in local funding, four experienced among the steepest declines in tax revenue. Wyoming, which had the worst decline in tax revenue, fell a whopping 21.9 percent during the period.

Budget shortfalls were among the worst in many of these states. Arizona, California and Nevada, among the eight states cutting local budgets, had the first, second and third highest budget shortfalls as a percentage of their general fund. Arizona faced a 65 percent shortfall in 2010.

24/7 Wall St.: 10 states that cannot pay their bills

These budget shortfalls, according to Robert Zahradnik, research director for the Pew American Cities Project, forced states to make deep budget cuts, hitting local governments -- and their employees -- particularly hard. According to the report, the number of employees on local government payrolls fell in 45 states between 2008 and 2011.

In several of the states with the largest cuts to local governments, these declines were the most pronounced. California, Arizona and Nevada were among the 10 states with the largest drops in government employees per person. In Nevada, the number of government employees fell by 15.4 percent, the most in the country.

While police and fire departments and other areas of local budgets were hit hard as well, no area suffered more than school districts. Zahradnik explained, “about half of the reduction of the local government jobs were in the education sector, and that’s not entirely surprising because that’s where the staff and the money are for the local government.” This is a notable departure from standard practice during a downturn in the economy. Usually, Zahradnik noted, local governments will leave education off the table because it is something the public wants to protect. In the great recession, however, there simply were no other options.

24/7 Wall St.: 8 things to do if you haven't planned for retirement

24/7 Wall St. identified the eight states with a 5 percent or greater decrease in state aid to cities, towns, counties, and school districts between 2009 and 2010 based on state funding to regional governments and government employee data from the Pew American Cities Project report, “The Local Squeeze: Falling Revenues and Growing Demand for Services Challenge Cities, Counties, and School Districts.” The report relies on the latest available Census Bureau information on state budgets. It also calculated the change in government workers between December 2008 and December 2011 using Bureau of Labor Statistics data on government employee figures, as well as population estimates, also from the Census Bureau. Separately, 24/7 Wall St. obtained state budget shortfall data from the Center for Budget Policies and Priorities, as well as changes in tax revenue between 2009 and 2010 from the Census Bureau.

These are the eight states slashing local funding the most.

1) New Mexico

•  Percent decline in local funding: 10.4 percent
•  Actual decline local funding: $498 million (9th largest)
•  State budget shortfall (2010): 18.2 percent (11th smallest)
•  Percent change in government workers per capita: -5.4 percent (16th largest decline)

Out of all states, New Mexico cut funding to its localities the most, reducing spending by more that 10 percent between 2009 and 2010. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, additional state cuts also resulted in fewer funds for higher education, the state workforce and services for the elderly and the disabled. The Santa Fe New Mexican writes that the Santa Fe School District endured the worst of its fiscal cuts in the 2009-2010 school year, when they were underfunded by about $11 million. After three consecutive years of deep budget cuts, New Mexico is now projecting a budget surplus of $250 million in 2012. NPR reports state leaders are debating whether to restore some services.

2) Wyoming

•  Percent decline in local funding: 9.5 percent
•  Actual decline local funding: $185 million (19th largest)
•  State budget shortfall (2010): 1.8 percent (the smallest)
•  Percent change in government workers per capita: +2.5 percent (2nd largest increase)

Between 2009 and 2010, Wyoming’s local governments’ revenue suffered from what Pew calls a “one-two punch”: shrinking in both state aid and property taxes. According to Census State Government Finance data, state aid fell by $185 million, while tax revenues declined by 21.9 percent -- the highest proportional decline in the country. Belt-tightening measures were necessary for the state to avoid layoffs of government officials. According to the Billings Gazette, officials at the Natrona County Detention Center were told that if they did not comply with budget cuts as high as 27 percent, they would be forced to lay off almost a third of their staff.

24/7 Wall St.: America's richest school districts

3) Virginia

•  Percent decline in local funding: 8.5 percent
•  Actual decline local funding: $1 billion (4th largest) 
•  State budget shortfall (2010): 24.1 percent (20th largest)
•  Percent change in government workers per capita: -4.7 percent (tied at 22nd largest decline)

In February 2010, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell proposed a total of $2.3 billion in cuts in order to balance the state budget without any increase in taxes. As a result of these cuts, the state of Virginia reduced transfers to its localities by more than $1 billion. The city of Roanoke, which was forced to raise taxes after the state’s budget was passed, responded to these cuts with particular frustration. Local officials in Roanoke denounced the state initiatives as indirect taxation, because they required municipalities to raise taxes to cover those funding cuts.

4) Minnesota

•  Percent decline in local funding: 8.2 percent
•  Actual decline local funding: $928 million (5th largest)
•  State budget shortfall (2010): 22.7 percent (21st smallest)
•  Percent change in government workers per capita: -3.8 percent (24th smallest decline)

According to the Minnesota Budget Project, the inability of the state to pay down its deficit in the 2010-2011 biennium was caused by a heavy reliance on one-time measures that failed to correct or reduce long-run deficits. In 2011, the League of Minnesota Cities sued the state’s legislature and governor in order to continue receiving aid after a government shutdown that July. The cities eventually agreed to accept a $138 million dollar cut in the funds to be received -- a reduction of about 19 percent.

Read the rest of States Slashing Local Funding at 24/7 Wall St.'s site

Pew Center on the States

A pension plan is considered healthy if it is 80 percent funded. A new Pew report finds many are not.

State governments face a gap of more than $1 trillion between what they say they will provide public workers in retirement benefits and what they actually have in their coffers, according to a study released Monday.

The report, from Pew Center on the States, finds that the gap has widened considerably in recent years, as states have been slammed by investment losses stemming from the 2008 financial crisis and budget crunches caused by the recession.

As of the 2010 fiscal year, the study found that states have about $757 billion less than they need for pension obligations. The states have about $2.31 trillion set aside, the report found, but their liability is about $3.07 trillion.

In addition, the report found that states have a health care liability of about $660 billion, but have set aside only $33.1 billion for those benefits. That leaves a $627 billion gap.

The two shortfalls add up to $1.38 trillion for the 2010 fiscal year, the most recent data available. That’s an increase of $120 billion, or 9 percent, from the 2009 fiscal year.

Some say even those massive estimates fall woefully short. Josh Rauh, associate professor of finance at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, estimates that states are facing a shortfall of $4.4 trillion for pension obligations alone.

Rauh said that's because most states forecast on the assumption their investments will yield an 8 percent return. As anyone who's watched their 401(k) accounts rise and fall over the past 10 years knows, that's hardly guaranteed.

"That is simply not a valid way to do financial accounting," Rauh said.

David Draine, a senior researcher with Pew Center on the States, said the financial crisis and recession have played a big role in creating the shortfall, but he noted that the problem began before that.

“Many of these states also failed to make recommended contributions when times were good,” he said.

Draine compared the situation to a person who owes a lot in credit card debt but is only making the minimum payments, if that. That can work for a while, but the balance keeps growing.

That’s how it is with many states right now. They have enough money to pay their current retiree benefits but not necessarily those due in the future.

Generally speaking, a healthy pension fund should be 80 percent funded. The report found that 34 states were below that threshold in fiscal 2010, up significantly from 22 states just two years earlier.

The states in the worst shape as of 2010 include Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky and Rhode Island. The states in the best shape include North Carolina, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.

Many states are completely unprepared to pay for future retiree health care benefits. The report found that 17 states have not set aside any money for that.

Richard Kaplan, a law professor at the University of Illinois who has studied this issue extensively, said it’s common for states to have set aside little or no money for retiree health care.

That’s partly because they aren’t obligated to, and partly because it’s very difficult to anticipate what an employee’s health care needs might be, let alone what it will cost.

Kaplan said most states have a legal or contractual obligation to make pension payments. But there are far fewer safeguards when it comes to health benefits.

“There is really nothing that is stopping a state or local government from saying this is too expensive or we’re not going to cover this anymore,” Kaplan said.

Many states are taking action to deal with these budget shortfalls. The Pew report, citing the National Conference of State Legislatures, said 43 states made benefit cuts, increased  employee contributions or both between 2009 and 2011.

Rhode Island has been among the most aggressive, with a plan to cut benefits for both current and future retirees.

Rauh, the Kellogg professor, said many state and local governments are pushing to reduce or dismiss cost of living adjustments for retirees as a way to curb costs.

He said those changes have seemed more palatable than more aggressive changes, such as moving public employees into the types of plans that most private employers now use, which are largely driven by personal investments. There's plenty of evidence that many Americans have not done enough to save for retirement on their own using such plans. 

"(The) 401(k) plans in the private sector have not exactly been a resounding success," he said.

Five states received a "B" grade for accountability and transparency and eight got an "F" in the investigation by the nonprofit groups Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International. No state got an "A."

The 18-month project is the most comprehensive study of state laws and practices that bolster openness and deter corruption, the investigators said.

New Jersey led the way with a grade of B-plus, followed by Connecticut, Washington, California and Nebraska. The eight failing states were North Dakota, Michigan, South Carolina, Maine, Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota and Georgia at the bottom. Nineteen states got a "C" and 18 received a "D."

Bad reputation
New Jersey has a colorful tradition of corruption in government, including a U.S. congressman taking a bribe from an FBI agent posing as a wealthy Arab sheik, a Jersey shore councilman caught on tape bragging to an undercover officer that he would never get caught because “I could smell a cop a mile away,” and a decade-long string of 150 state and local officials who were either convicted or pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges. The cases ranged from Motor Vehicle Commission employees selling fraudulent licenses to politicians peddling their influence for kickbacks.

Cases stemming from the 2009 roundup of 44 people in what was dubbed by the feds as “Operation Bid-Rig” are still working their way through the courts.

Read the full report from NBC10.com

But that history of corruption also led to strong reforms designed to prevent it in the future. Among them was a law prohibiting campaign contributions by most firms doing business with the state.

New Jersey ranks first in the integrity investigation for ethics enforcement, first for executive branch accountability and fourth for procurement practices.

“It's nice to be recognized for being ahead of the curve,” said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie, a former U.S. attorney who prosecuted many of the recent cases. “The governor is proud of the changes he's made and the resources he's made available to the public in terms of government transparency. Government operates and behaves better when it's open and transparent, and taxpayers feel informed and a part of the process when they can see how their money is spent, who is getting contracts and who's on the payroll and such.”

The result surprised Marc Mappen, author of the book "There’s More to New Jersey Than The Sopranos," who has covered corruption in the state.  "It’s nice to know we’re not as corrupt as people think," he told the Star-Ledger. "New Jersey has some spectacular examples of corruption in its history, but studies have painted a better picture."

According to Nathaniel Heller, managing director of Global Integrity, the finding may appear "counter-intuitive" but is a tribute to its corruption-fighting reforms

But, he added, "To be at the top of this list is sort of to win a beauty contest where not anybody is particularly pretty to start with."

Fewer watchdogs?
The study comes as struggling newspapers have slashed statehouse coverage or folded, weakening its traditional watchdog role of government, said Caitlin Ginley of the Center for Public Integrity, the project manager.

Almost every state had large gaps between laws on the books and their enforcement, she said.

The index grade measured the risk of corruption based on 330 indicators across 14 categories of government.

New York finished 36th with a "D" grade despite Governor Andrew Cuomo's steering ethics reform through the legislature.

"When the capital (Albany) is mentioned anywhere in New York state, there's usually a guffawing rejoinder followed by 'rats,' 'bums' or 'thieves,'" the report said.

Illinois, where former Governor Rod Blagojevich started a 14-year prison term for corruption on Thursday, got a "C" in a four-way tie for 10th with Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Hawaii.

States with well-known scandals paradoxically often have tough laws and enforcement that then bring them to light, a statement accompanying the study said.

"'Quiet' states may be at higher risk, with few means to (bring to the) surface corrupt practices," it said.

In Georgia, at the bottom of the list, there is a "gaping divide" between legal standards for accountability and normal practice, the report said.

Some 658 state workers accepted sports tickets, expensive meals and other gifts over a two-year period. It has been 12 years since the state last fined a vendor for failing to disclose such gifts, it said.

As a group, executives of Georgia insurance companies, public utilities and other regulated sectors have become the biggest single source of campaign money for regulators.

Methodology for the study was designed by Global Integrity, a Washington group that examines corruption worldwide.

The Center for Public Integrity oversaw the reporting and editing. Minneapolis-based Public Radio International, a transparency campaigner, handled dissemination by social media.

The study was largely funded by the Omidyar Network, an investment group founded by eBay Inc founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, and the Rita Allen Foundation of Princeton, New Jersey.

Reuters and NBC Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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