Baldacci Plan to Close $438M Budget Gap; GOP Response

NOTE: This item’s also posted for discussion on page 21 of this ongoing thread here.

Governor Baldacci Presents Plan to Close $438 Million Budget Gap

December 18, 2009
Governor's Office

AUGUSTA – Governor John E. Baldacci today released the details of his plan to close a $438 million budget gap created by declining State revenues.

“We are beginning to see signs that the economy is recovering,” Governor Baldacci said. “But unemployment remains high, consumer confidence is low, incomes are down and people remain uneasy. This national recession has been the longest and most severe since the Great Depression, and we feel it at home and at work.”

The plan closes a $209 million gap in fiscal year 2010 and a $174 million gap in fiscal year 2011 created when the Revenue Forecasting Committee revised its projections on Dec. 1. It also accounts for $25 million carried forward from fiscal year 2009. In addition, the budget appropriates $30 million for increased costs within State government.

Earlier this year, the Governor and Legislature addressed a $569 million budget gap with the passage of a revised $5.8 billion State budget. Since Dec. 1, 2008, State revenues for the current budget have been reforecast down by $1.1 billion.

With the revisions submitted today, the two-year budget will fall to $5.5 billion. Funding for education, including higher education, accounts for 50.5 percent of the General Fund. The Department of Health and Human Services, including MaineCare, represents 28.6 percent. The remainder of State government represents 20.9 percent.

“These are unprecedented times,” Governor Baldacci said. “We must balance the State budget at the same time that the recession is placing increased demands upon government to assist families in need.”

The 2010-2011 budget is the first in at least 35 years to be smaller than its predecessor. For context, in 2004 General Fund appropriations totaled $2.64 billion; in 2011, the budget is now proposed at $2.66 billion.

The Governor’s plan includes reductions across government, a placeholder for increased federal assistance and the use of one-time tools to bring the budget into balance. No tax increases, new fines or fees are included in the budget revisions.

“We must reduce spending, but government still has a responsibility to its people,” Governor Baldacci said. “While we are making significant cuts, we are also working to mitigate them by giving local governments and schools the tools to lower costs.”

The plan reduces funding for:

• K-12 and higher education;

• The Department of Health and Human Services, including rate reductions for many MaineCare service providers;

• All State departments and agencies;

• Municipal Revenue Sharing;

• Critical access hospitals by reducing the reimbursement rate from 109 percent of MaineCare allowable costs to 101 percent;

• The Legislature and Judiciary.

The plan also:

• Adds three State government shutdown days (one in FY 2010; two in FY 2011);

• Increases scrutiny of assets as part of MaineCare eligibility and reduces eligibility income levels for Circuit Breaker;

• Creates a new tax collection program to recover old debt owed to the State;

• Utilizes excess reserves to the retiree health system without impacting benefits or system solvency;

• Recognizes $13.5 million in savings from the hiring freeze implemented by the Governor and savings from lower Workers’ Comp rates;

• The Maine Department of Transportation will reorganize its workforce, making it more adaptable and flexible;

• Supports the continued consolidation of county jails and State correctional facilities through the Board of Corrections;

• Consolidates and reorganizes the workload within the mental health program in DHHS to better utilize medical staff;

• Restructures Child Development Services within the Department of Education from 15 regional sites to nine;

• Establishes a process to reorganize the four natural resource agencies (Agriculture, Conservation, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Marine Resources) and to reorganize the Department of Economic and Community Development;

• Reorganizes the bureaus within the Department of Agriculture from four to three.

“We must continue to streamline and reduce the size of State government,” Governor Baldacci said. “We cannot use limited resources to support unnecessary administration. Instead, every dollar possible should be directed toward providing services to the people of Maine. We all must recognize that we can’t afford the comfortable structures of the past. We must be willing to chart a new course.”

In addition, the plan transfers balances from Other Special Revenue accounts to the General Fund and shifts the due date or timing of payments for several State-funded programs to achieve one-time savings.

“We have used one-time tools to mitigate cuts in education, public safety and health and human services,” Governor Baldacci said. “This budget revision makes important structural changes to government that will produce ongoing savings, but it would have been much too severe to close the entire gap with cuts alone.”

In addition, the budget revisions include $3.5 million to flat-fund the Board of Corrections at 2010 levels in 2011 and $1.75 million to partially reimburse municipalities for the State share of disaster assistance.

The plan includes a $35 million placeholder for an anticipated increase in federal support for MaineCare.

“I have spoken directly to the Vice President and the White House economic team about this issue. They have assured me that this is a priority for the President,” Governor Baldacci said. “I believe our estimate is conservative, and that the President and the Congress recognize the need to extend the higher match rates originally adopted as part of the Recovery Act for at least six months. If, however, Washington does not act, I am prepared to take the necessary steps to keep the budget in balance.”

Further supporting the placeholder, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a jobs bill Wednesday night, which includes a six-month extension of the MaineCare funding, in addition to other aid to states. Negotiations are ongoing in the U.S. Senate.

The budget revisions include 44 position eliminations. Since 2003, the State government workforce has been reduced by nearly 1,000 positions, not counting approximately 150 positions that were frozen as part of a retirement incentive created in the spring.

“Unemployment is already a major concern,” Governor Baldacci said. “We worked hard to limit the number of layoffs. Unfortunately, it was necessary to increase the number of government shutdown days by three. State workers have been asked to do a lot. They’re being asked to do more.”

In the last seven years, State government has gotten smaller and more efficient.

Reduced school administrative districts, the unification of county jails and the State corrections system through the Board of Corrections, consolidation of administrative and IT functions within State government and the consolidation of the Department of Health and Human Services are saving millions of dollars for taxpayers while delivering higher quality services.

“My budget proposal includes hard choices and shared sacrifice,” Governor Baldacci said. “It’s a road we have been down before. But we have never lost sight of our core values, and we won’t lose sight of them now. We will maintain the essentials and support job growth. And when our economy begins to escape the shackles of this recession, we will be better positions for recovery.”

The text of the budget can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/budget/

The Governor’s prepared remarks for the release of the budget today follows.

Good afternoon.

We’re having these budget get-togethers a little too often.

And the news, it seems, gets a little worse every time.

As we approach the holiday season, the details of our country’s economic plight are front and center.

And the impact goes beyond the numbers and the bar graphs we’ve all become accustomed to.

Unemployment and economic uncertainty are taking an increasing toll on our economy and on our families.

It has devastated people looking for work, and hangs like a dark cloud over people who are working.

Consumers are worried about their jobs and their health care.

Businesses are moving with caution and aren’t investing.

Incomes are down.

This national recession has been the longest and most severe since the Great Depression, and we feel it at home, and at work.

Since just last year, Maine’s revenues have been re-forecast down by $1.1 billion dollars.

Most recently, projections for the rest of 2010 and 2011 were reduced by $383 million dollars.

Taken with a liability from 2009 and with increased funding demands within State government, we must close a gap of $438 million dollars in our current budget.

As I worked on developing this plan, I considered a list of priorities that would help guide my decision making.

My plan would work to lessen the impact on education, public safety and health, and our most vulnerable citizens.

Given that education and health and human services account for about 80 percent of the General Fund budget, there’s no way those areas could avoid serious reductions.

But I sought to reduce the impacts and give communities greater flexibility to reduce their costs and to focus their resources on the classroom where they do the most good.

I wish I could say we have eliminated all the hardships in this budget, but we’ve not.

There are difficult cuts, and we will have to continue our efforts to make government leaner and more efficient.

I also wanted to avoid including things in the budget that could unnecessarily hurt job creation or hamper economic recovery.

My plan does not increase taxes, fees or fines. I do not believe that working families and businesses can afford a greater burden.

I’ve always said that a good job is the best social service program, and the family is the best social service agency.

I have tried to find a path forward through these challenging times that protects both.

We are beginning to see signs that the economy is recovering, but states haven’t escaped the grips of recession.

Like Maine, more than 30 states are seeing revenues below projections for this year.

Earlier this year, Maine passed a $5.8 billion dollar two-year budget.

It was the first time in at least 35 years that a two-year State budget was smaller than its predecessor.

With the revisions I am submitting today, the budget will fall to $5.5 billion dollars.

To put that in perspective, seven years ago my first budget was about $5.4 billion dollars.

During that same time, we have increased funding for education by hundreds of millions of dollars – even though we have seen student enrollment drop by about 20,000 students.

We have restrained the rest of State government.

With today’s revisions, education spending now accounts for more than half of the General Fund of the State budget.

Health and Humans Services is 28.6 percent.

And the rest of State government is 20.9 percent.

Our priority remains our State’s children, our neighbors who need help, and public health and safety.

During these unprecedented times, we must balance the State budget at the same time that the recession is placing increased demands upon government to take care of people and families in need.

While funding for Medicaid has been held almost flat and well-below the national average for growth, the program is serving 20,000 more people.

Other programs, like food assistance and unemployment, have grown, and more and more people have fallen on hard times.

But we have no choice. We must reduce State spending further.

Today’s budget revisions include cuts across all agencies and departments in State government.

It reduces municipal revenue sharing, makes changes in provider rates, and adds three additional government shutdown days – taking the total to one per month.

The budget revisions contain a roadmap forward to achieve efficiencies through greater cooperation and consolidation of natural resource agencies.

It realigns the Department of Economic and Community Development to make the agency less centralized and more responsive.

It streamlines the delivery of Child Development Services in the Department of Education from 15 sites to nine.

The Maine Department of Transportation will reorganize its workforce, making it more adaptable and flexible.

It reduces the number of bureaus within the Department of Agriculture from four to three.

And it includes an internal consolidation within DHHS to better utilize medical staff within the mental health program.

These efforts build upon our successes in other areas.

We have already achieved increased efficiencies and savings through:

• The consolidation of the Department of Health and Human Services;

• The consolidation of administrative and IT functions within State government;

• The unification of the administration of county jails and the State corrections system through the Board of Corrections;

• And through school administrative district reform.

But we must make government more efficient.

We cannot use limited resources to support unnecessary administration.

Instead, every dollar possible should be directed toward providing services to the people of Maine.

I’ve been down this road before, and I know that change is difficult and is often met with opposition.

But we all must recognize that we can’t afford the comfortable structures of the past. We must be willing to chart a new course.

We know we can do it.

Consider the Board of Corrections.

Prior to its creation, county jail costs were growing at an average of 9 percent annually and the State adult corrections budget was growing at 5 percent.

Under the unified system, county jail budgets grew by 1.8 percent in 2009 and half of 1 percent in 2010.

Saving property taxpayers millions of dollars.

And there were even bigger reductions in the adult corrections budget.

The Board of Corrections has saved millions of dollars in state and property taxes.

And it deserves continued support, which is why my budget includes $3.5 million dollars to fund the in 2011.

With this funding, the Board can continue to make the changes necessary to keep our corrections system as a model for performance and government efficiency.

Even as we have worked to reduce costs, we have also maintained our focus on quality. All of Maine’s State prisons are highly rated and accredited by the American Correctional Association, an impressive accomplishment.

While my budget contains many difficult cuts in spending, I have also used several one-time tools to reduce the impact of closing a $438 million budget gap.

We will achieve significant budget savings by utilizing excess reserves in the retiree health plan that we have built up in earlier years.

The proposal does not threaten the solvency of the fund and will not impact retiree benefits.

We have also included a $35 million dollar placeholder for increased federal support for Medicaid.

I have spoken directly to the Vice President and the White House economic team about this issue. They have assured me that this is a priority for the President.

In addition, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday night that includes additional Medicaid funding and other assistance to states.

I believe our estimate is conservative, and that the President and the Congress recognize the need to extend the higher match rates originally adopted as part of the Recovery Act for at least six months.

If, however, Washington does not act, I am prepared to take the necessary steps to keep the budget in balance.

This is a prudent, responsible and measured approach that avoids causing unnecessary harm and anxiety.

We also will shift the due date or timing of payments for some State programs, which will help avoid worse options.

I have proposed significant ongoing budget reductions that will begin saving money now and save even more in the future.

These one-time tools are a better alternative than additional, painful cuts.

I began today talking about the impact high joblessness is having on our people and on our economy.

Unemployment is a major concern, and we have worked hard to limit the number of layoffs included in this proposal.

The budget revisions include 44 position eliminations, and also recognize $13.5 million dollars in savings from the hiring freeze I implemented.

Since 2002, the State government workforce has been reduced by nearly 1,000 positions, not counting the retirement incentive created in the spring.

We have shutdown days, and State workers have lost merit raises, longevity pay and must now contribute to the cost of their health insurance.

State workers have been asked to do a lot. They’re being asked to do more.

These men and women make easy targets for critics and skeptics alike.

But they are the police on the beat, the search and rescuers, the first responders and compassionate care givers.

They keep us safe, help to create and protect jobs, and make sure that government is working for the people.

You can talk about government in a lot of ways, but essentially it is how we, as a people, deliver upon the promises we have made to one another.

Regardless of political party, we all want a good education for our kids, to help our neighbors who are struggling and to expand economic opportunity.

Those are the basics. We have to protect them.

My budget proposal includes hard choices and requires shared sacrifice.

It’s a road we have been down before.

But we have never lost sight of our core values.

And we won’t lose sight of them now.

We will maintain the essentials, and support job growth.

And when our economy begins to escape the shackles of this recession, we will be better positioned for recovery.

We will have a leaner, more efficient government built upon a foundation of fiscal responsibility.

The days and weeks ahead will be difficult. The politics of an election year will be hard to avoid.

But I know that if we are able to put aside partisanship, as we have in the past, and focus on the job at hand, we will be able to do the work we were elected to do.

Thank you.