Untitled Document

2009 State of the State/Budget Message

Page 2
The economists tell us we’re in a recession. Well, a generation of great Idahoans lived through the Depression and came out stronger and more determined to succeed – heroes like Warren McCain, Louise Shadduck, J.R. Simplot, and Medal of Honor recipient Ed Freeman.

They and many others of their generation set a standard for grace and grit that we would all do well to emulate. It is my hope that we can honor their memories and their sacrifices by responding to difficult times with selflessness and high regard for our fellow man.

Idaho also was struggling through a rough patch in our economy when I served as lieutenant governor in 1987. Back then, people were saying the state of Idaho might as well just turn out the lights and quit – that things would never be as good again as they had been prior to that economic downturn.

Well, they were wrong then, and the nays ayers are just as wrong now!

I’m not wearing rose-tinted glasses. But I am a glass-half-full kind of guy.

I know those of us in state government are facing the same kinds of painful, gut-wrenching choices that individuals and families all over Idaho are making with their personal finances. And the decisions you and I make will bear on the ability of every Idahoan to fulfill their own responsibilities.

But we have the experience, the knowledge, the talent, and the determination to come out of this stronger and better than we were before – just as Idaho has done in the past.

Now – as you know – declining revenue prompted my decision to order holdbacks totaling 4 percent of the General Fund money appropriated for the budget year that now has reached its midpoint.
State agencies also are holding an additional 2 percent of their General Fund appropriations in reserve as a hedge against further revenue declines.

The impact is serious.

Fundamental changes are being made in the way we do business. Every director, administrator and employee in state government is re-evaluating processes and rethinking priorities.

Some services that were meeting public demands – and in some cases have become expected of state government – have had to be reduced or eliminated.

Our new Zero-Base Budgeting process already is identifying a number of programs and operations that have been pursued or continued at taxpayer expense but with no specific statutory authority or direction.

It is my intent to continue an unrelenting scrutiny of state government programs that use Idahoans’ hard-earned dollars.

Make no mistake: Nobody enjoys cutting budgets. I understand real people with real needs are affected. The decisions are difficult and always made only after careful consideration.

The question that you and I must honestly answer on every occasion is whether meeting those real needs falls within the sphere of the necessary and proper role of taxpayer-funded government services.

While we are hopeful for a speedy economic recovery, it is our responsibility to prepare for the worst – to be careful stewards of taxpayer dollars.

We have a constitutional requirement to provide a balanced budget. And that requirement becomes especially important when – as now – the economic forecast is relatively bleak.

To that end, I am submitting a Fiscal 2010 budget to you today that reflects both our caution and our continuing efforts to ensure Idaho meets the future head-on.

I’m calling for a reduction in total General Fund spending of more than 7 percent from what initially was approved for Fiscal 2009. That reflects a realistic and thorough assessment of our needs and our capabilities. And I believe it reflects the kind of frugality and common sense that most Idahoans expect and deserve.

As you know, public schools are exempted from this year’s budget holdbacks, thanks to the Public Education Stabilization Fund that you established during better economic times.

It would have been unfair and unwise to ask public schools to share in the burden of budget holdbacks in the middle of an academic year.

There simply was too little time and too many obligations already made on the local level for school officials to make the adjustments that would have been needed to reduce their spending so significantly.

Continued