Missouri: Governor cuts $125 million, proposes more cuts for future

State News

Discussion

March 11, 2010

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Mar 11, 2010, 10:49 PM CST

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon cut nearly $126 million in spending Thursday and proposed to dig even deeper by eliminating 1,000 state jobs, half the state’s primary vehicle fleet and all state scholarships for students at private colleges.

Nixon’s blueprint for reshaping government also would ax several state holidays, cut back on employee pension and health benefits, privatize child support collections, curtail state tax credits and merge various government agencies.

“We are going to do fewer things,” Nixon said in prepared remarks at an annual meeting of the Springfield Business Development Corp. “But we are going to them more efficiently, and more effectively, and with greater accountability to taxpayers.”

Missouri’s government faces immediate and future financial concerns.

Nixon has vetoed or cut more than $850 million from this year’s $23.7 billion budget for state operations and capital improvements. The $126 million of reductions announced Thursday include:

— The elimination of in-home care services, such as bathing and cleaning, effective April 1 for 2,600 lower-income elderly or disabled people.

— Reduced state aid for public school buses and community health care clinics.

— A $1.1 million cut in state subsidies to Amtrak, which recently has increased its ridership on Missouri’s twice daily trains between St. Louis and Kansas City. The cut would force the elimination of one of those trains, unless the Missouri Department of Transportation comes up with money from elsewhere or negotiates with Amtrak to accept less.

Budget director Linda Luebbering also said Thursday that Missouri plans to borrow from a $200 million pool of federal stimulus funds to avoid a delay in paying state income tax returns.

Luebbering also said the state’s 2010 revenue projection has been revised downward for the second time in three months. The state now expects to end the fiscal year on June 30 with a 9.6 percent revenue decline from the previous year.

The state’s future problems are perhaps more daunting.

Nixon said he expected a $500 million shortfall in the 2011 budget that he outlined just two months ago. The governor and legislators have warned that 2012 could be even more difficult.

Nixon and Republican legislative leaders have ruled out tax increases to help close the gap.

The suggestions Nixon outlined Thursday are just a starting point. “We know there’s going to have to be more,” Luebbering said.

Nixon can implement some steps — such as employee layoffs, the sale of state vehicles and buildings, and the consolidation of state laboratories — by his own initiative.

Other proposals will require legislative approval, including reductions in biofuel subsidies, the elimination of holidays for state workers, the merger of the state highway and water patrols and the consolidation of the Department of Higher Education with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Nixon also is proposing to “fold up the sprawling bureaucracy” of the Family Support Division, by closing some of the county welfare offices in favor of regional centers.

Legislative reaction was mixed about the merger proposals.

House Budget Committee Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, both said they made sense. Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, said combining the education departments could prove advantageous, but that he was sure such a move would raise concerns.

Nixon’s proposal to end financial aid for students at private colleges and universities could prove even more problematic in the Legislature.

Last school year, Missouri awarded more than $50 million in scholarships to nearly 15,000 students at 58 private universities, colleges and technical schools, according to statistics from the Department of Higher Education.

Icet said the thought of cutting those scholarships gives him heartburn and seems unfair. Mayer also expressed opposition.

“Missouri has a very big private college sector,” Shields added. “I would suggest that’s going to be hard to do.”

Missouri’s financial woes are not unique. States across the nation are struggling with declining revenues and growing budget holes. States have increased taxes and cut spending in 2010 to close $90 billion in budget gaps with another $19 billion still remaining, according to February report by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers. Nineteen states this year have cut up to 5 percent of their budgets and 24 have trimmed even deeper.

The collective financial situation for states is not expected to improve much over the next several years. States are facing $55 billion in budget holes in 2011 and $62 billion in 2012, according to the February report.

Text Only

State News

2.6 magnitude earthquake recorded in Oklahoma
The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded a 2.6 magnitude earthquake near Wellston in central Oklahoma.
No injuries or damage is reported.

January 19, 2011
Audit: $108,000 taken from Missouri Veterans Commission JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A former employee of the state auditor’s office embezzled nearly $108,000 while working as an accountant for the Missouri Veterans Commission, the state auditor alleged Monday.

Stacy Griffin-Lowery was fired by the Veterans Commission in March 2008 and pleaded guilty three months later to a misdemeanor theft charge. She repaid the state $17,665, the auditor’s office said.

But Missouri Auditor Susan Montee on Monday accused Griffin-Lowery of swiping an additional $90,192 by getting reimbursed for cash advances and purchases made on her personal credit card.
April 12, 2010
Race in Kansas’ 2nd District could heat up for GOP incumbent TOPEKA, Kan. — A conservative Kansas legislator said Monday he will announce in a few weeks whether he will challenge freshman U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins in the Republican primary.

State Sen. Dennis Pyle’s actions in recent months suggest the Hiawatha farmer, who’s served in the Legislature since 2001, is running against Jenkins in the Aug. 2 primary. He set up a campaign organization in November and has a Web site featuring a brief video of him on his farm, asking viewers for support.
April 12, 2010
Oklahoma tea party leaders, lawmakers envision militia OKLAHOMA CITY — Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

Tea party movement leaders say they’ve discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force
April 12, 2010
Missouri: Senate panel cuts $500 million from proposed budget JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Senate committee declared Thursday that it has sliced more than $500 million from Missouri’s proposed budget for next year — meeting a target set by Gov. Jay Nixon to bring it in balance.
April 8, 2010
Kansas: Wichita-area casino in doubt after governor’s decision TOPEKA, Kan. — A proposed casino south of Wichita was in doubt Thursday after Gov. Mark Parkinson refused to grant its developers a regulatory reprieve. Partners in the $225 million Chisholm Creek project wanted to delay a state board’s decision on their plans.
April 8, 2010
Oklahoma: Groups oppose education spending initiative OKLAHOMA CITY — A coalition of business and labor groups said Thursday it will work to defeat a ballot initiative to dramatically increase spending on public education that coalition members said would devastate the budgets of many other state services and possibly force tax increases.
April 8, 2010
Missouri: Gov. Nixon affirms support for tuition freeze COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has no plans to sit idly while lawmakers consider whether to preserve a tuition freeze deal he assembled before the state’s dire financial status was fully known.
April 7, 2010
Kansas: Agency uses YouTube to illustrate road woes TOPEKA, Kan. — It’s one thing to hear about potholes and state budgets. It’s another to see how the two are connected. That’s part of the thinking behind a new video presentation on YouTube this week from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
April 7, 2010
Oklahoma: Pathologist says girl’s throat might have been cut OKLAHOMA CITY — A 7-year-old girl who was found dead in Oklahoma near the body of her suspected kidnapper likely died after her throat was cut, an independent pathologist said Wednesday, the same day the child’s funeral attracted hundreds of mourners.
April 7, 2010
More State News Headlines

Water company cites reconnections

State News

Search Results

Discussion

Missouri: Governor cuts $125 million, proposes more cuts for future

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Site Map

Contact Us