As a businessman who spent the past two years working in state government, I would like to report that we live in a well-run state constantly striving to maximize value to the taxpayers. Unfortunately, this is only partially true. I can report that the 14 agencies reporting directly to Gov. Mark Sanford have undergone significant transformations under his leadership.

However, there are more than 70 other agencies outside the governor’s purview. Most of our government is actually run by a mish-mash of part-time boards and commissions, legislators and other elected officials. As a result, no individual is directly accountable for their performance.

In choosing Cabinet directors, the governor stressed two qualities: individuals who could be “agents of change” and who possessed humility of spirit embodied by the concept of “servant leadership.” His diverse appointments have used these shared traits to dramatically improve their agencies.

As our state’s first chief executive with an MBA, Gov. Sanford closely oversees these agencies with regular meetings focused on goals, areas for improvement and results. While many candidates talk about the need to “do more with less,” this governor and his team deliver on that promise every single day.

For example, the Department of Motor Vehicles reduced average wait times by more than 75 percent while cutting its reliance on tax dollars in half. The Department of Health and Human Services cut the growth of Medicaid by 50 percent. And the Department of Commerce doubled private-sector investment in South Carolina despite cutting one-fourth of its work force.

The contrast between Gov. Sanford’s agencies and the others was strikingly evident in last summer’s executive budget hearings. The typical Cabinet director focused on savings and service improvements they had or would soon achieve. Most non-Cabinet agency directors focused their presentations on their need for more money and why efficiencies could not be achieved. The governor’s 14 agencies offered total budget savings of more than $20 million. The other agencies offered no savings whatsoever — yet requested an additional $1.5 billion of your tax dollars to spend.

What’s worse is the serious misinformation campaign employed by defenders of the status quo. Despite what you may hear, our state invests thoroughly in education. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that total spending per student is more than $9,800 — well beyond the $1,852 “base student cost” commonly reported. Even the NEA — a national teacher’s union — ranks South Carolina at 26th in per-student spending, impressive considering we rank 43rd in terms of incomes.

Although only about half of our students graduate from high school, we have the seventh-highest budget percentage in the country spent on higher education. And those who lobby to increase your gas taxes fail to mention the $300 million budget increase enjoyed by the Department of Transportation during the past two years. Our problem is not a lack of funding — it’s an uncontrolled bureaucracy that always wants to spend more.

If you enjoy paying taxes, stop reading. But if you think the government can function better, you should be gravely concerned. It’s projected that our state will bring in nearly $800 million in new tax revenue next year. Most of your legislators want to spend that money, which is especially troubling given that the majority of it will increase funding for those very agencies with little oversight.

While Gov. Sanford is better able to run our government than most, every elected governor should be able to make changes and be held accountable for performance.

We should all support the effort to bring accountability to our entire government. One way to stay informed is to join an advocacy group such as Change South Carolina Now, on the Web at http://www.changescnow.com/.

If we want agencies held accountable for providing better results at a lower cost, we must demand that legislators loosen their archaic stranglehold on power and help — not hinder — Gov. Sanford’s efforts to streamline government.

Mr. Walldorf owns a Mount Pleasant-based business. He served as a deputy chief of staff to Gov. Sanford during the first two years of his administration.