Governor Jennifer Granholm called her new state budget her best ever and if you're one of the 1,500 Michigan citizens crafting a new state agenda through the Michigan's Defining Moment (MDM) Public Engagement Campaign, there are some things to like.

MDM participants deeply value education and firmly believe in the need to transform our economy through a much more educated, diverse, talented, and globally competitive workforce. To that end, the governor's budget boosts money for K-12 education, colleges, and universities.

MDM participants also strongly believe in a "North Coast" value of place, and the governor's budget boosts revenues for local governments for the first time in several years and stops the multi-year bleeding in the budgets for the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Environmental Quality.

But MDM participants also want effective, efficient and accountable government. And, in that respect, the governor's budget once again falls well short.

This year's budget can spread more money around because of last fall's tax increases. (Coffers are considerably more plump, as this new state analysis shows). The new revenue has once again stalled serious action on reforms. This year's budget continues to bypass most of the transformational reforms recommended by the Emergency Financial Advisory Panel the governor convened more than a year ago. And, the new budget proposal doesn't go far enough in containing the whopping costs of state prisons.

So, there might be less budget controversy in Lansing this year, but it's a temporary peace. The state still faces a huge long-term structural budget deficit and, ultimately, greater reforms are inevitable.

One budget reform approach with some bipartisan momentum is a plan crafted by Republican State Senator John Pappageorge. His plan would require better advanced preparation for future budgets, would limit budgets to 96 percent of projected revenues to prevent spending money the state doesn't have, and is aimed, in part, at improving the state's sinking credit rating.