|
|
| Rendell Reduces Budget by $500 Million |
| By mcall.com |
| Published: 06/18/2009 |
|
Rendell Reduces Budget by $500 Million But because original spending plan was bumped up last week, the result is termed a 'wash' By John L. Micek June 18, 2009 HARRISBURG - Gov. Ed Rendell on Wednesday unveiled $500 million in cuts to his proposed 2009-10 budget, but its bottom line will remain largely unchanged. Hardest hit are the departments of Education, which would lose $212 million; Public Welfare, $106 million; and Community and Economic Development, $43 million. The Department of Corrections, whose budget has grown steadily for years as it struggles to house an expanding inmate population, would lose $11 million. The widely expected announcement, which was short on details, comes two weeks before the deadline to approve a new spending plan and a day after Rendell announced he will seek a temporary increase in Pennsylvania's personal income tax to raise $4.5 billion. His initial, $28.9 billion budget proposal jumped by nearly $387 million last week after state Budget Secretary Mary Soderberg told legislative leaders the administration needed more money to largely cover expenses in the departments of Education and Public Welfare. As a result, the reductions announced Wednesday are ''effectively a wash'' when it comes to the bottom line of the administration's budget plan, said David Donley, director of Rendell's budget office. Rendell made the cuts public during a brief midday meeting with Cabinet secretaries in which he did not take questions from the press. The Democratic governor said he could not balance his budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 without using a mix of cash reserves, spending reductions and tax increases. ''The facts are the facts, and the numbers are the numbers,'' said Rendell, who must close a year-end deficit now pegged at $3.2 billion. ''I wish I could change them, but I can't.'' Rendell's office refused to release a detailed accounting of the proposed reductions, even though the governor publicly noted several of them, including elimination of the final piece of funding for the administration's marquee Classrooms of the Future program. ''So many of the cuts are for programs I really like and get personally involved in,'' Rendell said. ''Some cuts are personally distasteful.'' The basic education subsidy for students in kindergarten through 12th grade would not be affected, administration spokesman Chuck Ardo said. ''He is committed to programs that help make Pennsylvania's education system better and improve our students' learning,'' Ardo said. Rendell's top deputies are slated to meet with Cabinet officials today and Friday to go over the administration's list of recommendations. Cabinet officials will have the weekend to mull them over before returning to Rendell on Monday with counter-proposals. At that time, the final list of reductions will be made public, Rendell said. ''I understand the stress this will mean for you,'' Rendell told his Cabinet. ''It simply has to be done.'' House Democrats, who have backed Rendell's budget initiatives, said Wednesday they were glad Rendell announced his cuts, but ''we would not support a [personal income tax] increase until significant [spending] reductions are made,'' said Brett Marcy, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne. Republicans, who back a $27.3 billion, no-tax-increase budget that makes drastic cuts at every level of state government, pounced on Rendell's announcement.Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think