Governor Martin O’Malley on Budget Cutbacks
July 21, 2009
We’re going to have to make some painful and difficult decisions, but we do so, always mindful of our mission, our simple intention of protecting Maryland families as we weather this recession. That means maintaining a strong safety net for families, that means preserving and protecting priorities like education. The very things that have us in a better position to come back out of this recession.
Spending reductions that we will make by Labor Day of this year will bring this administrations three year total to more than $5 billion in cuts and spending reductions that we have had to make in this budget in the State’s operations. We believe -- and keep in mind that now 81 percent of the State -- of your State tax dollar, goes to public education, public safety, public health. That’s 81 percent of what we do in your State government.
Secretary Foster: $4 billion.
Governor O’Malley: What did I say?
Secretary Foster: You said five.
Governor O’Malley: Oh, I said five? Excuse me, back up the tape. $4 billion in cuts. $4 billion in cuts.
By Labor Day the total number of cuts in spending reductions we’ve done will be $4 billion. That’s why Eloise sits to my right.
We believe that this is the first time in our State’s history, certainly in our modern history, the General Fund spending will have declined over a three year period. There are times when it’s been lower than the prior year, but this is the first time when you can actually look at it and see that the General Fund is less now than it was three, four years ago.
One of the things that we will not do, and that we will not be proposing, is cuts to education. We have the best public school system in America because we work for it, because our parents and our teachers and our kids have worked for it, because all of our citizens have invested in the outcome of having the best public schools in the United States.
We will, however, have to make cuts that we wish we did not have to make. There’s progress that we would like to be making at a faster rate than we’re going to be able to in the year ahead and it’s because we have to balance this budget, we have to maintain fiscal responsibility.
We will be proposing $750 million of budget actions by Labor Day, over $280 million budget actions planned for the July 22nd Board of Public Works meeting. The initial actions focus on State agency budgets. Subsequent rounds of cost containment will have to include further agency reductions. It will have to include aid to local governments and it will have to include employee compensation. Again, no reductions in K to 12 education are planned at the State level.
Combined with earlier actions these 2010 reductions will bring the total cuts to State spending under this administration, again as we said before, when we said it correctly, $4 billion and 2800-and some positions.
We intend to take this initial round of $280 million in cuts to the Board of Public Works tomorrow. We expect to be back there in the weeks and months ahead, after we’ve had an opportunity to dialogue with dignity and with respect and with understanding with our partners in local government, of both parties, and also with the representatives of the hardworking men and women who are keeping this State government functioning at a really difficult time, maintaining the strength of that safety net for Maryland families and protecting the priorities that make us one of only seven states with a Triple A bond rating and the only State in America this year that can claim to have the best public school system in America.
Be glad to answer any questions that you might have.
