Though difficult, Otter says budget cuts needed - Fort Mills Times
09.01.09
He said such encounters underscore the difficulties Idaho government faces as its economy sours: Finding places to save as tax revenue shrivels, while simultaneously maintaining necessary services that residents rely on.
"I told her I was going to work real hard to try to get her back the eight hours, but I couldn't promise her," Otter said. "When you put that kind of a face on it, I say again, cutting a budget is almost as difficult as raising taxes."
Otter already has ordered $130 million in across-the-board budget cuts for the current fiscal year and is recommending another $120 million be cut from fiscal year 2010 starting next July.
Otter's figures tentatively put his proposed 2010 budget at about $2.69 billion, about 8 percent less than the current year's original appropriation. He'll present his formal plan Monday in his State of the State speech when the Legislature opens its session.
Legislative leaders who participated in the annual forum agreed that nearly every decision made in the 2009 Legislature will be colored by dismal economic numbers.
Source: Fort Mills Times, SC