AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. John Baldacci’s plan to get the state through the rest of the budget year reduces overall net spending by $115.4 million and uses $45 million in reserves to keep state government operating. But the public will only have three days, and nights, to comment on the 175-page proposal starting today, and that con-cerns some lawmakers.
“We really have no choice,” said Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, co-chair of the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee. “It means we will be here early in the morning and late at night, but we have to get it done. This is an aggressive hearing schedule, but we have to get this out of the way to deal with the big-ger problem of the biennial budget.”
Baldacci will propose his budget for the next two years on Friday, and it will close a gap of more than $850 million, composed of both revenue shortfalls and agency estimates of what it will take to keep current programs and current levels of service.
“We know the governor will be making some major proposals that are going to take a lot of effort to review and consider,” said Rep. Emily Cain, D-Orono, the House co-chair of the committee. “Aggressive is the perfect word to describe the approach we are taking with the supplemental budget because we have to get it out of the way just as soon as we can.”
But the two GOP lead members of the panel are worried about the ability of the public to weigh in on the spending of their tax money with limits on how long a person may testify and uncertainty when a particular section of the budget will actually be brought up for public comment.
“For the members of the committee to fulfill its responsibility, to the full Legislature and to the public, it needs to take the necessary time to ask the questions and find the answers,” said Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport. He has previously served on the panel, although not as a senator. He said the panel benefits from public comment and he does not want to see that diminished.
“This severely limits the public input and it’s an extremely aggressive schedule,” he said. “It is important that we demonstrate to the public that there is openness and transparency in the budget process.”
The lead GOP House committee member, Rep. Sawin Millett, R-Waterford, said that while he agrees the panel needs to move swiftly on the budget proposal, the public needs to have its say.
“That is a real concern,” he said, “particularly with the first day’s schedule.”
Millett said holding hearings on both Health and Human Services and Corrections in one day will be very difficult. In all, three dozen areas of changes and cuts in DHHS are scheduled for public hearings between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. today. At 4 p.m., hearings on cuts and changes in 20 separate areas of Corrections start. And an-other eight proposals in two state departments are scheduled after completion of the Corrections budget.
Lawmakers already have identified several areas that likely will be contentious, such as reductions in some of the human services programs. In addition, the closing of a unit at the Charleston Correctional Center is controversial, as is the way the cut in state aid to local schools will be distributed.
“And there are some of us that would like to find some other cuts we can make to reduce what we take from reserves,” Rosen said. “We may need that later on.”
Cain said many of the cuts are continuations of the curtailments imposed by the governor in November, so they are not “new” and hopefully will not generate a lot of public comment.
“We are going to make every effort to hear every story as we always do,” she said. “We are going to encourage organizations and groups to present with spokespeople and show up at the public hearings, but not have every individual speak.”
Diamond said commissioners have been told they are not to present lengthy arguments for the budget changes at the hearings, leaving the time that is available to the public. He said the committee will work late into the evening every night if that is what it takes to allow the public to have their say.
“We have to get this done,” he said. “This is an unusual session, an unusual budget problem, and we have to tackle it as such.”
Diamond said his target is to have the bill out of the committee by Jan. 23 so the full Legislature can consider it. He said the two-year state budget gap is likely to grow and lawmakers will need all the time they can get to tackle that problem.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see that gap grow to a billion dollars,” he said.
On 1/5/09 at 7:02 AM,
Govt2Big wrote:
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While the title of this article is very clear, "Legislature set to move quickly on budget", let's hope they don't move too quickly. As you probably know, we have some MAJOR financial problems with our state government, but these issues CAN be resolved. Although it won't be easy or fun, WE MUST:
1) Reduce the massive amounts of services provided by our state government. They are doing more than they should in a society built on CAPITALISM (versus Socialism/Communism). If the services are needed, the private-sector will grab them and go!
2) Next, our legislators must CUT at least 10% of state positions/jobs...don't worry, they will be able to find a job in the new private-sector (unless they are too lazy to work in the "real world" of Maine).
3) TERMINATE UNION CONTRACT - the political relationship between many of our Maine democrats and their campaign supporters at the primary state union/PAC (MSEA-SEIU) is inappropriate and must be dealt with. The concept of a so-called labor union and "public servants" working together just doesn't mix very well in reality. IF/WHEN these items are completed, the State of Maine will be back-on-track and heading in the right direction for positive change. Is this possible? I think it is possible, BUT our politicians will need to leave their egos and partisanship out in the parking lots before they enter OUR CAPITAL.
On 1/5/09 at 7:30 AM,
downbeat wrote:
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Govt to big has it right...they could have prepared for this over time, but chose not to...they now have to do the right thing...we all need to learn that govt cannot solve every problem and we need to do more on our own. I am afraid they do not have the ability to do what is right for the state and just cater to the people who don't work and hang around the lobby of the state house, while the rest of us work..
On 1/5/09 at 8:36 AM,
vichet wrote:
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Last year during the budget debates a local legislator complained in a public meeting about citizen input in the process. She said "I wish we could make decisions in private so these thing dont become public until after things are decided." This looks like her wish come true.... Doesn't this scare anybody?
On 1/5/09 at 10:01 AM,
avidreader wrote:
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Govt2Big would you consider running for Governor?
On 1/5/09 at 11:09 AM,
JonAlbrecht wrote:
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Govt2big is, as usual, always wrong about everything. The Brookings institute factual analysis of state spending came up with many recommendations for savings none among Govt2Big's ideological driven unfounded proposals. Brookings found that $60-100 million could be saved by reducing unnecessary administrative personnel. That excess is necessary to manage the contractors who are contracted for at huge cost but giving the state better control over termination and benefits. Maine should look at a more traditional management approach of hiring the front line workers as State employees and hiring only those managers necessary to manage them. Will significantly reduce labor costs.
Private firms do not always or even often improve the function of Government. We could outsource our investment decisions to Madoff or Merrill-Lynch for example or our Prison system to private prison firms that all over the US have been charged with defrauding the respective state, torturing prisoners, and failure to monitor the prisoners. Or Charter schools like in Philadelphia where their management has stolen everything not bolted down. No the private-sector only offers something good when they are well-regulated. Using private-sector companies is a license to steal without outside auditing, public transparency, and a system of performance evaluations.
On 1/5/09 at 2:13 PM,
downbeat wrote:
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Our state tresurer bought 20 million dollars of sub prime morgages last august and he got reappointed.. no accountibility in state goverment...and the list goes on..By the way private sector contractors in Maine doing social services are doing a much more efficient job than the state run programs..and their computer systems work....Good regulation is needed but the people doing the regulation are goverment hacks typically knowing nothing about the industries they are supervising in most cases.
On 1/5/09 at 4:19 PM,
glenna wrote:
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Both Downbeat and JonAlbrecht have valid points. When it comes to social services, private sector organizations (on the whole) can do a better job of providing services than government agencies BECAUSE they control the workload, whereas government workers are continually told to accept larger and larger caseloads to the point that the needed work simply can't get done, especially with the amount of paperwork that is also demanded by layer upon layer of bureaucratic redundancy. Workloads negotiated by SEIU or other labor unions are seldom honored because there's more work than workforce and not enough money to provide the negotiated workforce to workload. Private sector organizations don't have to deal with the unions; they can just deal with the people who need the services and the bureaucracy is more of a direct pipeline - IF there is a competent, streamlined government process (a rare thing).
On the other hand, privately run prisons and jails are lawsuits waiting to happen (as anyone experienced in that field knows). There is a huge profit margin in running a private prison but very little training for the correctional staff. The private institutions are still under the legal authority of the state that contracts with them and, as such, must meet court ordered standards which seldom happens. This sets the state (not the contractor) in a critical position for law suits left and right.
There are no quick-fixes for either the State of Maine or this country. Capitalism has become the acceptable word for Corporate Greed across this country and the Maine Democratic Party has become the deep pockets andf bleeding heart for every person who hasn't been able to financially stand on his/her own in this state - which is an easy position to be in when people drop out of school, get pregnant or think getting drunk or drugged is OK instead of learning a viable, marketable trade - and businesses are made the whipping boy.
Maine needs to stop thinking that the way it's always been is just fine. It isn't. Mainers need to find competitive markets and expand their thinking in ways to bring dollars instead of people looking for welfare into this state. One way is to make it more difficult for people to be eligible for welfare and to limit the amount of time a person under the age of 65 can collect welfare.
On 1/5/09 at 6:07 PM,
CeeBlue wrote:
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'JonAlbrect'-----While your 'insight' is interesting, referring to G2Big's concepts as unfounded ideology is a bit too effete.
Your condemnation of an ideology that would address real time issues borders on hubris; when, instead the truth might lie in a incorporation of both approaches to Maine's bloated Gov..
But I commend you for your concern.
On 1/5/09 at 7:26 PM,
vichet wrote:
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Very Nice Glenna... I would like to comment that teacher unions are the bane of education. The nature of a union is to gain more power to itself and often that comes at the expense of the student... An example ... A High school student I know with Attention Deficit Disorder was recently called a moron by his high school teacher, in front of his class because he was celebrating an "A" he received on his test. This teacher was protected by state law and the union from any public acknowledgement of any discipline given by the administration. The teacher did not even have to aplogize to the student. I can guarantee you this union teacher is overpaid, in a Charter school this wouldn't have happened.
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