Every year political insiders, legislators, and the media prepare for the annual State of the State Address, where the governor lays out his or her vision for the state. The speech receives an enormous amount of coverage from local media outlets, which allows the general public to consume every word and message the governor delivers. While the speech serves as a platform to communicate the administration’s vision, it isn’t as telling about where their priorities lie as one other important presentation.

In a State of the State address, it is expected that the governor will provide residents with ideas that can move the state forward. However, there is the reality of the state budget and the costs associated with those ideas. The question of how many resources does the state have to move it forward always presents itself before, during, and after the State of the State. The address that matters the most to the residents of the State of Michigan will happen on March 5th this year with little fanfare, and without the ceremonial grandeur, and that is the governor’s budget presentation.

Buried in a 50 plus billion-dollar budget is where you will find the governor’s most important priorities. The budget is the true roadmap to what is important to an administration, not necessarily what they spoke about during their State of the State address. To quote James Frick, “don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.” The budget is what speaks for an administration and its priorities.

I learned years ago as a legislator that if you stay focused on the budget and the numbers you will always be informed as to what lies ahead politically. The budget is our state’s foundation; it allocates the dollars necessary to fund programs, departments, and state-wide institutions to make Michigan a competitive state.

My former House seatmate used to always tell me, “keep the main thing, the main thing.” This time of year, the main thing is the budget. If you miss the budget, you could miss the message.

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