Perdue orders new state spending cuts

By James Salzer

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gov. Sonny Perdue ordered already slimmed-down Georgia agencies this week to take another 4 percent spending cut starting in August because the state's new budget relies on federal stimulus money that may never come.

Perdue exempted K-12 schools from the latest cut, but not the university system. It will affect  agencies that hand out driver's licenses, educate college students and run parks, prisons and health care programs that cover more than a 1 million Georgians. Those agencies employ about 90,000 people.

The move, which will save the state $25.5 million per month, is a preemptive one, the governor's office told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Congress could still come through with the stimulus money before the end of the year. But it's far from certain.

Perdue and lawmakers approved a budget for this fiscal year, which began July 1, that counted on about $375 million in extra federal Medicaid stimulus money. About 30 states wrote the the extra money for Medicaid, which provides health care to the poor and disabled,  into their budget plans.

But conservative Democrats and Republicans in Congress stalled the funding, arguing that it added to the burgeoning federal deficit. Lawmakers such as U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) say they can only support it if there are offsetting spending cuts.

"Our national debt has now surpassed $13 trillion and we cannot continue spending at this alarming rate," Isakson said. "This is a painful debate, but it is a necessary debate.”

Bert Brantley, the governor's spokesman, said the state needed to react quickly to the possibility it might not get the money.

"The main thing driving this is we don't want to wait until January to make some of these adjustments if they are necessary," Brantley said.

Georgia's state budget has been cut more than $3 billion during the past two years.

The latest cuts could mean furloughs for more state employees. Some agencies are already making workers take days off without pay, but many more may have to do so with the new cuts.

Several agency officials said Thursday they are working on proposals to deal with the new cutbacks, but they don't have firm plans yet.

"I don't know where the money is going to be pulled from. It's certainly not going to be easy," said Todd Holbrook, deputy commissioner for operations at the Department of Natural Resources. "Everything has to be on the table."

State funding for the DNR, with runs park and wildlife programs, has been cut by more than a third since fiscal 2008.