The House Appropriations Committee began to hear from the various agencies about their FY10 needs. This intake step is the first step in building the new budget. The objective is to hear the requests with little debate about their merits. Those debates will come later in the process. The focus of this step quickly became the 660 position reductions from State government totaling $17 million dollars requested by the Governor. The debate switched from cutting positions to saving the $17 million by using other line items in each department. The important concept to understand is sustainability. Making structural changes to government by cutting positions ensures that the $17 million is sustainable into the future. It is critical that we keep our eye on the sustainability factor and not simply make one year budget reductions or use the federal stimulus money to provide a quick one year fiscal “fix.” The debate between position cuts versus other budget cuts will continue to be a hot topic as the FY10 budget is developed.

The 2010 budget targets will be difficult to meet. Overall, the state must bridge a $200 million dollar gap. This must be accomplished by either reducing the budget or raising our revenues. Governor Douglas suggested $200 million in state spending cuts on January 22nd. I believe the gap will be narrowed with a combination of cuts and revenue increases. No one likes to cut. Any suggestions?