Brother, Can You Spare $46 Million?
It’s not the $60 million shortfall it could have been, but October revenue collections in the state of Indiana fell $46 million short causing Governor Mitch Daniels to call for more budget cuts, wage freezes and dipping into surplus state dedicated funds.
Daniels say revenue collections have been off by more than $300 million since the start of the fiscal year. The Governor announced the state will take several steps to close the shortfall which include…
- State agencies will reduce spending by at least 10 percent from the as-passed budget. The governor had already ordered a 5 percent spending reduction in July.
- The lieutenant governor, auditor, treasurer, secretary of state, and superintendent of public instruction have committed to 10 percent spending reductions in their own office budgets.
- Reimbursements to some Medicaid providers will be reduced.
- State employees will not receive a pay increase in 2010, the same action as 2009. The last time there were back-to-back years with no pay raises was in 2002 and 2003.
- Governor Daniels will not accept his full pay in 2010, the same action he took for 2009 when his salary was due to increase from $95,000 to $107,882.
- State agencies will offer voluntary unpaid leave for the remainder of the current fiscal year.
- State agency capital projects will be deferred. This includes new buildings or structures, infrastructure and system upgrades, and site improvements.
- Some dedicated funds will be transferred to the general fund. Amounts will vary and will not disrupt the long-term viability of the program supported by the dedicated funds.
The Governor also said while public safety and education are the top priorities, schools should be prepared to deal with the reality of possibly getting less money than originally budgeted.
One area where state revenue was up was in gaming, however Daniels says he has no desire to expand gambling in the state, but has no real issue with moving existing licenses from one part of Indiana to another if warranted.
