Finance office, governor present budget strategy
Lyn Peters, director of communications for
Washington Department of Financial Institutions,
explains proposed state budget cuts.
In the effort to foster understanding of what lies ahead, the Washington Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is working with the governor to share information with community leaders across the state about the state’s budget.
The governor wants to make sure the people of the state understand the magnitude of the problem the state faces and the solutions available.
To that end the DFI has released a detailed list of agency reductions to help people consider the status of the state budget heading into the 2010 legislative session.
The list includes updated caseload and utilization cost increases and a Nov. 18 revenue forecast. The forecast follows the 2009 budget passed this session that resolved a $9 billion problem caused by escalating costs ($3 billion more for providing the same services) and a huge drop in revenue ($6 billion).
Balancing the state budget this year was achieved through a combination of program cuts ($3.3 billion), federal Recovery Act funds ($3 billion), use of the Rainy Day Fund ($400 million), fund transfers and salary freezes ($2.1 billion) and early reductions ($300 million).
The $3.3 billion in cuts had state-wide impact on a host of services, including:
• Larger K-12 class sizes as I-728 funding was slashed.
• Tuition increases of 14 percent at four-year schools and 7 percent at community and technical colleges. (Even with tuition increases, more than 1,800 employees will lose their jobs, fewer classes will be offered, and classes will be larger).
• Higher costs and fewer opportunities for residents to receive state-supported health care;
• Fewer prison beds and less community supervision; • Fewer state-supported preschool programs; • Less cleanup of toxic sites; • Fewer tobacco prevention and control programs;
• Fewer license services offices;
• Less in-home assistance for aging and disabled individuals, affecting 45,000 clients;
• Less support for low-income, working families and unemployable individuals;
• 45 fewer State Patrol troopers.
Washington state is not alone, of course.
In the past 12 months, 48 states have faced significant budget gaps.
In fact all states except Vermont, saw a revenue drop this year, and 36 states saw revenue drop by double digits. So far, 26 states are facing a second round of budget cutting after balancing their budget in the previous legislative session because revenues have continued to drop.
Now just five months into the budget period, we expect a $2.6 billion gap between expenditures and revenues. As revenues continue to drop, demand for state services continues to rise — and we haven’t been able to realize all the savings we had planned in the budget due to factors like lawsuits that are blocking proposed cuts.
It’s a challenge to make cuts since 70 percent of the state budget is “protected.”
Protected items include basic education, debt service and pensions, mandatory federal programs such as Medicaid and foster care, and spending required for the federal Recovery Act, especially in higher education.
Below is an agency-by-agency summary of reductions with all agencies making administrative cuts such as postponing technology upgrades and limited training programs:
• The Department of Agriculture is eliminating marketing projects; scaling back the Farm-To-School program; reducing grants for noxious weed control and eliminating a biofuels quality assurance.
• Community and technical colleges are cutting budgets an average of 7.6 percent and increasing tuition, with early retirement options for selected employees at 15 colleges. reducing marketing, maintenance and custodial staff and postponing planned IT upgrades.
• Department of Commerce will save $28.3 million by reducing about 40 percent technical assistance and services to local governments for growth management planning; reducing support of Washington state tourism by about onethird; reducing statewide business recruitment services by about 20 percent and international trade services by about 25 percent, possibly eliminating one or more overseas trade offices. DOC will eliminate the following programs: Washington State Film Office, CASASTART substance abuse and violence reduction program, Gang witness program, Offender re-entry housing pilot, Urban forestry program, Public broadcast grants, Developmental Disabilities Council DSHS Legal Services, State Human Trafficking Task Force, Washington State Association of Counties training, UW College of Forest Resources Center for International Trade in Forest Products,
• The Department of Corrections will reduce the supervision of offenders in communities and release 75 percent of offenders at their early release date; close two prison units, put 25 percent of violators on home monitoring instead of in jail and reduce offender reentry services by $8.2 million.
• The Department of Early Learning will reduce ECEAP by 2.1 percent or 173 slots and reduce orientation sessions for child-care providers and explore ways to offer orientation online.
• The Department of Ecology will offer fewer grants for toxic cleanups, less Centennial Clean Water grants for wastewater treatment, and reduce the number of water rights processed each year from about 500 to 370. The litter prevention campaign is suspended for two years and will hire 100 fewer teens for litter crews.
• The Department of Financial Institutions will leave vacancies open, restrict travel, and cut non-critical expenditures like tuition reimbursement, commute trip reduc- ing use of video conferencing and extend computer leases to a four-year replacement cycle, while making more information available on the Web.
• The Department of General Administration will reduce custodial services in 24 buildings on the Capitol campus and cut grounds maintenance, including planting 11,400 fewer bulbs, will close the Visitor Information Center at entrance to Capitol and reduce management of public works projects.
• Department of Health will reduce programs on tobacco use prevention in communities and schools and eliminate funding for its universal vaccine program.
• Health Care Authority will make a $238 million reduction in the Basic Health Plan by reducing enrollment from 100,000 to 60,000- 70,000 members and maintain that level of enrollment for 2009-11. The state will increase the Basic Health premiums effective Jan. 1, 2010, cancel members who are eligible for Medicaid or other coverage, and increase the frequency of eligibility reviews.
• Department of Information Services will reduce staffing by 22.8 full-time equivalent employees, defer equipment purchases until 2011-13 biennium, and change leasing programs from three- to four-year leases.
• Department of Labor and Industries has eliminated 10 positions. Due to the decline in construction, revenues from electrical permits and licenses continue to decline and so 25 electrical inspectors, 11 temporary positions and six customerservice specialists positions will be eliminated.
• Department of Licensing is consolidating offices and developing “SuperCenters” for in-person customers and enhancing Internet services to reduce in-person transactions.
• Liquor Control Board is closing five enforcement field offices, eliminating more than 20 positions including three management positions and transitioning the three-member board to voluntary status.
• Parks and Recreation Commission is downsizing from four to three regional offices, eliminating non-core programs and business services such as subsidies for concession operations like the swimming pool at Saint Edwards State Park and food service at Fort Worden, lifeguard services and marketing activities. State parks will increase fees and there will be fewer staff, shorter hours and fewer custodial services. Some state parks may be transferred to other operators.
• Department of Personnel is eliminating some trainings, reducing recruitment costs by outsourcing the state’s online recruitment service, and eliminating the internal print shop, closing a building and moving staff into another facility, consolidating two customer support desks and tightening controls on changes to IT systems.
• Puget Sound Partnership will move away from an independent, public-education media campaign to work with existing communication efforts and use a more targeted approach to provide grants in support of public education and volunteer programs while communicating via social media and other networking opportunities, and will rely more on federal funding. The Partnership has submitted a proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency for additional funding for the 2009-11 biennium for performance management, science and support for watershed groups.
• Department of Revenue is moving to more electronic service delivery to reduce printing and postage costs and will eliminate salary increases for Washington Management Services/Executive Management Services in the 2009-11 biennium. DOR will reduce tax return processing staff.
• Department of Social and Health Services is working to expand community access points with computers and self-service kiosks at libraries, food banks and grocery stores. DSHS will cut its Aging and Disability Services by $94 million by cutting benefits to 230 providers; will impact 45,000 clients to save $81 million and eliminate 900 residential clients to save $37 million. One third or about 500 Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration youth will be released without support and services.
• Economic Services Administration will cut $68.7 million in funding for Work- First.
• Children’s Administration is working to reduce foster care by expediting adoptions and trying to reunify children with their birth families quicker.
• The Health and Recovery Services Administration is developing new purchasing strategies that will save the state more than $200 million a year and reduce nearly all of its provider rates, while restyling optional Medicaid benefits for efficiency, safety and cost savings.
• Washington State Patrol is reducing staff by 45 full-time trooper employees and deferring the purchase of equipment for the crime lab. It is no longer analyzing misdemeanor amounts of marijuana submitted by local police.
• Department of Transportation is saving $15 million with a 5 percent budget cut with $6.7 million in savings anticipated through regional realignment, with 20 percent cuts to project support budgets and 40 positions cut from management service levels 3 and 4.
• Department of Veterans Affairs has reduced staff by 11 positions with the least possible impact on direct care in veterans homes.
• Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board will reduce the number of workforce on customer satisfaction surveys of federal training programs. They will delay state surveys of workforce program participants and eliminate incentives to Workforce Development Councils for meeting federal performance targets.
– Lyn Peters
Olympia
