How much bad news is O'Malley's budget hiding?
As the hours pass, the details contained in Gov. Martin O'Malley's latest budget are being ferreted out. They're not pretty.
Reaction to the governor's spending plan was fairly muted when it was unveiled on Wednesday. The governor filled a $2 billion revenue shortfall with a mix of spending cuts and transfers. Many interests groups and local government said they were resigned to sharing the pain. The most critical voices came from Republican lawmakers, who said spending was still too high.
But to coin a phrase, the devil is in the details. Today's Sun reports how local school districts will take a hit. Baltimore schools would receive $23 million less than a year earlier, a reduction that the city schools superintendent calls an "effective roll-back" of the vaunted and cherished schools funding initiative commonly known as the Thorton plan.
One of the largest staffing cut areas come from public safety and corrections. Now it turns out that to decrease staffing and overtime costs, the O'Malley administration wants corrections officers to work 12 hour shifts, up from 8 hours. The change is sparking an outcry among Western Maryland lawmakers, whose districts include many of the state's prisons.Republican delegates LeRoy Myers and Christopher Shank told the Hagerstown Herald-Mail that longer shifts for guards could make the prisons less safe.
Stay tuned for more details about what the budget contains. And if you've heard of any yourself that haven't received a full airing yet, let us know.
Comments
So isn't it time to start talking seriously about legalizing marajuana? It would reduce the burden on the courts and the jail system and could provide a possible source of revenue as a taxed item, as alcohol currently does and has never been shown to be as harmful or addictive as tobacco or alcohol.
Posted by: Annette Hopkins | January 23, 2009 11:50 AM
The budget is declaring war on the middle class and aiding the poor. O'Malley health care program is a budget killer he won't cut while cutting DHMH staff to run it. Does that make sense? DHMH is not doing asset checks to see if the people applying for it really need it. Can someone say FRAUD? Not working gets you health care, working a job makes you go broke!
Posted by: John | January 23, 2009 2:15 PM
Don't forget that Prince George's County schools are shouldering a $35 million decrease as well. It bewilders me how the neediest students carry the heaviest budget burden?
Posted by: Theresa | January 23, 2009 2:57 PM
The budget does not include money for retiree health care.
Posted by: mary | January 23, 2009 3:35 PM
Cut the freaking ICC already and be done with it.
Posted by: Dave | January 23, 2009 4:34 PM
Current retirees will have health care funded. What is not funded is future retiree health cost, what is usually called OPEB (other post employment benefits). What this means is the State is not funding a future liability in FY 10 (when today's workers retire in the future and get retiree health insurance), but they are funding their current expense (the cost of insurance for current retirees).
To say this very simply, the state is paying for today's insurance costs, but not saving for future costs. Ideally, the State and for that matter any employeer who plans on offering retiree health insurance should be putting money away today for that future cost. Of course since it is a future cost, it is easy to pass on.
Posted by: Robert of Cross Keys | January 23, 2009 5:01 PM
What happened to
"“Over the last four years, our state government has failed to act – and chose to defer our State’s $1.7 billion deficit. Last year, the people of Maryland got tired of the bickering and the delay, and made a change,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “Now it’s time to take action – in a special session – starting on Monday, October 29. The cost of waiting is too high. It’s time to pass a consensus budget plan, solve the problem, and move our State forward.”
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2007/6569.shtml
Gosh, before O'Malley promised his 2007 Special Session tax hikes and new spending would once and for all solve the "structural deficit." I guess he is no different than the criticisms he made!
Posted by: Jack | January 23, 2009 8:15 PM
I agree with Jack. Party Marty called the special session to address these issues and ended up increasing taxes AND spending. The bottom line is that the state spends more money than it should, and the citizens have come to rely on increased services over the years. That's what makes the cuts "painful." And, sadly, no one has the political will to reign in the spending that goes toward higher education in this state. Keeping tuition affordable is one thing, but does Towson, for example, really need to build a $45 million arena? As a taxpayer, I'd like to know the answer to that question.
Posted by: Rex | January 23, 2009 9:42 PM
Did the gov need to buy swampland at a price tag of 70 million when he furloughed State workers to save 34 million at the same time?
Posted by: Pat | January 28, 2009 9:56 AM