Governor Phil Bredesen says he’ll ask the legislature to extend his deadline for recommending a budget. He says it makes sense to wait to see what kind of stimulus package the Obama administration will propose.
Bredesen has asked all state departments except for K-12 education and corrections to cut 14.7% out of their budgets for the next fiscal year. He says the budget may not be that bad, depending on what kind of fiscal stimulus is passed on the federal level. That could mean money for infrastructure projects or increased matching funds for the state’s Medicaid program, TennCare.
But he says the budget outlook could also be worse if the feds do nothing and the economy continues to deteriorate. Regardless, Bredesen says he doesn’t want to layoff state employees.
“I would really like to avoid any involuntary terminations of employment that you possibly could. And I can’t promise that at 15% that’s perfect, but I’m going to try and do as much as I can of that.”
For now, Bredesen expects to cut more than 900-million dollars. The budget will likely be presented in mid-February.
The governor says to cope with the recession he’s also going to ask the legislature to pass a package of bills when it reconvenes in January. The package will include changes to civil services rules so employees can change departments without having to be fired and re-hired. Bredesen also wants the legal authority to sell bonds through a competitive bidding process, rather than through an auction as they are sold now.
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