Bredesen Says Bad Budget Year Has a Silver Lining

Governor Phil Bredesen says the bad economy is a good time to carefully trim and tweak state government.

Speaking today to a gathering of Nashville’s Downtown Partnership, Bredesen said he’s always done his best work under the pressure of bad budget years. He points to the state employee buyout as one example.

“Some of the departments did a great job and really flattened down those middle management structures that had gotten very big and very kind of bad. That’s something I could not have gotten done in a good year, but in a tough year like this is a great time, just as it is in business, to do that.”

The administration accepted buyout applications from about 15-hundred employees. Further layoffs are expected to follow early next year.

The state’s revenue collections for July were significantly less than anticipated. Bredesen says he can’t count on the idea that things will turn around anytime soon.