Colorado’s next governor faces perhaps the worst fiscal crisis in state history, yet none of the three leading gubernatorial candidates has offered concrete plans on how to tackle a budget shortfall that could be as much as $1.1 billion.
Pressed by The Denver Post to provide details, the candidates still struggled to outline comprehensive plans and, at times, chose not to answer specific questions. All hedged on whether to make further cuts in higher education, and despite agreeing they would restore $100 million in tax breaks cut by lawmakers this year, none offered a substantial way to recoup the revenue that would be lost in such a reversal.
Democrat John Hickenlooper, who has a wide lead over his two opponents, has offered fewer details than they have.
Not surprising, said Denver political consultant Eric Sondermann, since that leaves Hickenlooper’s hands untied by campaign promises.
“This is what happens in a non-competitive race. If it was hotly contested, there would be pressure to have specifics,” Sondermann said. “For Hickenlooper, specificity is your enemy. It can only hurt him. He just wants to run out the clock.”
The state’s total budget is $18.2 billion. However, the state’s general fund — the primary source of money to operate programs — is less than $7 billion. This is the part of the budget lawmakers struggle to balance annually.
The rest is made up of federal funds that typically match state spending for specific programs such as health care, education and roads. Finally, there are cash funds, which are generated from fees on specific services.
Candidates float ideas
Each candidate has ideas, but they vary in both specificity and impact. Hickenlooper says he will organize a team to identify savings opportunities, though he’ll have to do it fast because lawmakers must pass a budget by April.
Republican Dan Maes would cut the Governor’s Energy Office and eliminate electronic road signs, though neither of those items receives general- fund money, so cutting them wouldn’t help balance the budget.
Maes would also cut 2,000 state employees, which might be both impossible and illegal, budget experts said.
Both Maes and American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo would begin by increasing the deficit through restoring a property-tax exemption for seniors along with restoring the business tax exemptions. That could take what might be a $1.1 billion shortfall and make it as much as $1.3 billion.
Tancredo believes he could save $1.4 billion a year if all illegal immigrants left, though much of that would come from schools, which would see federal funding reduced as enrollment shrank.
Finally, Tancredo would impose a 10 percent across-the- board cut on state agencies, though he hasn’t said who would guard inmates or staff community college classrooms when workers disappear.
Feasibility a question
Plans for mass layoffs and blanket reductions are more complicated than they appear on the campaign trail.
Henry Sobanet, former budget director for Republican Gov. Bill Owens, weathered the last fiscal crisis in the early part of the past decade.
Many state employees are classified, and the process for reducing those positions is months-long and complicated, and the state still has to pay their unemployment benefits, he said.
And while health care and K-12 education costs eat up more than 70 percent of the state’s general fund, fewer than 1,000 employees work in state departments that oversee the programs, and many are paid through federal grants, Sobanet said.
“I don’t want to imply that layoffs are impossible, but it’s not a snap of your fingers,” he said.
Likewise, there are department budgets determined by caseloads — like corrections facilities and human services. Others, such as colleges and universities, have already borne the brunt of budget cuts, making another 10 percent reduction tougher to stomach.
And, as with other parts of government, the salaries of many higher-ed employees are paid with federal funds or other sources, so firing them wouldn’t help balance the budget.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
