 November 19, 2008 Reported By: A.J. Higgins
Nearly 80 million dollars in curtailments have been ordered by the Baldacci administration as the first stage of what is expected to be a difficult period of transition in state finances. Gov. John Baldacci says another $70 million reduction to state programs and services will be submitted to the Legislature next month as part of budget revisions needed to balance the books through June 30th. As the state feels the sting of the national recession, Baldacci says all Mainers will have to make adjustments.
Noticed a chill in the air this week? It's not just the mercury that's dropping in Maine. State revenues are expected to take a nose dive in the months ahead and Governor John Baldacci is taking action by ordering $80 million dollars in budget adjustments now. “Our country faces a dangerous recession, and Maine like a majority of states including all the New England states, are going through the same process and must deal with declining revenues. We have constitutional obligations to make sure we finish the year with a balanced budget. Today’s curtailment is the first of a three-step process we must take to bring spending in line with the available resources.”
The second phase of the Governor's budget-balancing strategy will be reflected in a supplemental budget request containing additional cuts to offset a projected $150 million budget shortfall through June 30th, the end of the fiscal year. “That budget will contain many of these cuts implemented by this curtailment along with other initiatives that will insure we have a balanced budget. The current budget situation requires us to take action immediately. Every day we wait makes the budget cuts more severe and more difficult. Curtailment is a blunt and limited tool. It is intended to allow me to take action temporarily until the Legislature can pass a supplemental budget.”
Most of the cuts in the curtailment order fall in the areas of health and human services or education. Susan Gendron, state Education Commissioner, says after increasing local education aid by 800 million new dollars to Maine cities and towns over the last four years, the reimbursements will be frozen through the end of the fiscal year. That will reduce state spending by $27 million. Gendron says she has discussed some options for cost savings with local school administrators, but concedes belt-tightening may not go far enough for many communities. “In actuality in many of our districts, they are going to have to look at how do they staff differently within their schools in order to meet the $27 million reduction in general purpose aid for this year. So, I think you will see in some instances there may be some layoffs at the local level in order for them to be able to meet the reduced revenue that they’re going to see through general purpose aid.”
Human service programs will serve fewer people who may have to wait longer for assistance because of the budget reductions. Betsy Sweet, the head of Moose Ridge Associates which lobbies for many of the state's social service clients, says that when times are tough; it's always tougher for the poor and disadvantaged. “I think the most striking thing is that in this kind of economy, you know, it’s ironic, but that’s when we need social services the most. It’s not when the economy is good that we need the social services the most, so it’s so counter cyclical. So I think the question for the supplement budget is how do we mitigate that reality?”
Governor Baldacci says Mainers will persevere by relying on each other to prevail over the difficult financial period ahead. “We are in a very difficult, national recession. These are hard times. Everybody is struggling. We are needing to make sure that whatever we do, is going to be as deliberative, thoughtful and as much across the board as possible, because I think we are all sharing in the sacrifices that we all need to make.”
The Governor plans to submit his supplemental budget request to the Legislature by December 15. |