Otter asks agencies to identify more cuts
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 12:32 PM PST
BOISE (AP) — As economic recovery hopes dim, Gov. C.L. ‘‘Butch’’ Otter has asked state agencies to prioritize programs to be trimmed in fiscal year 2010 in anticipation of possible cuts of as much as 6 percent — or an additional $169 million — from their budgets.
Otter already ordered agencies to slash $130 million, or some 4 percent, from spending in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. If all cuts are made, the 2010 budget could decline about 10 percent, to $2.64 billion, a level last seen in 2007.
The additional cuts now being incorporated into Otter’s budget recommendations for 2010 ‘‘should involve eliminating entire programs if they are not in furtherance of or required by your statutory mission,’’ Otter wrote agency directors this week. The Republican governor has asked them to have their latest savings plans in his office by Thursday.
‘‘He’s told them, ‘Here’s the number we’re looking at, from a statewide position. I’m not going to make blanket cuts across the board. You tell me where you think you can save, because we’re going to need to make up some serious money,’” Jason Kreizenbeck, Otter’s chief of staff, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Agency heads have been directed to outline specific measures and their associated cost savings, then describe what effect such a move would have on their operations.
Otter will decide what to keep and what to discard in his budget recommendation, due to be released Jan. 12.
