Gov. Bill Ritter, working with state lawmakers to close a $384 million gap in the budget year starting next month, said today he has directed state department heads to look for whole programs that can be cut and said layoffs are not out of the question.
In a memo sent today, Ritter’s budget director told department heads to come up with plans within the next month to cut 10 percent out of their 2009-10 fiscal year budgets. The cuts, the memo said, should be focused on “eliminating the least efficient and effective programs, rather than continuing to shave resources from existing programs.”
“The plans must be vigilant,” the memo continued, “in eliminating corresponding FTE.”
Asked today at a news conference whether that meant state employees could lose their jobs,” Ritter replied: “It could mean that.”
Since the most recent budget forecast came out Monday showing the state in worse-than-anticipated fiscal shape, Ritter said he has been meeting with high-level aides and key lawmakers to come up with a plan for closing the budget gap. Todd Saliman, Ritter’s budget director, said Ritter decided to look at whole programs to cut rather than over-all trimming because some programs have been shaved too thin already.
“These are big cuts we’re talking about,” Saliman said. “The governor wants to ensure that we continue to do critical functions well.”
Ritter said he hopes to have a plan for balancing the 09-10 budget by August and present it to the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee in September. The cuts wouldn’t become official until the full legislature can vote on them when it reconvenes next year.
