At the state level, leaders moved with uncharacteristic speed at the end of January to come up with $1.3 billion that, on paper, rectifies the current fiscal year’s budget deficit that’s estimated will be $1.6 billion by the end of June. So what’s $300 million difference? Isn’t that where the phrase “close enough for government work” comes in?
Locally, Pima County has been gradually tackling its budget issues in the face of declining tax revenues, mostly by trimming its workforce and services but also looking to add revenue, such as the $1.5 million it hopes to start raking in from 10 photo-enforcement cameras to catch speeders now being installed. The city of Tucson has been among the slower entities to actually start tackling its problems. Maybe that has something to do with this being an election year for some members of the city council.
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Case in point: Last week’s Arizona Supreme Court ruling that state government had illegally appropriated $29.7 million in money from local governments. If the ruling holds up, Pima County will receive about $2 million from the state. It won’t have any effect on the city of Tucson’s budget, which had never deducted its $2.1 million share of the amount in the first place.
That $1.3 billion state leaders have come up with is only the beginning. Now, they must come up with as much as almost $3 billion out of the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The first part was relatively easy. With little imagination, majority lawmakers snatched the low-hanging fruit by slashing money that went to their pet peeves.
Out came $580 million, mostly from education. The state’s rainy day fund was drained of $130 million. And they’re counting on another $500 million coming in from the federal government’s economic stimulus plan.
But, as they say, the devil is in the details and we Arizonans are still learning the full impact of what happened as officials start implementing the cuts through layoffs and the elimination of programs and services.
What’s worse, there’s the potential for some real damage to be done with the next go-round of cuts.
Despite earlier threats of larger cuts, the state’s universities begrudgingly put together cuts they say they can live with.
Some conservative lawmakers had targeted the universities - they have too many pointed-headed liberals, don’t ya know - but as we said last week they aren’t doing this state any good by hurting the university system. There is some real learning — and in the case of the University of Arizona, some cutting-edge research — that takes place at our state’s institutions.
Similar things can be said for K-12 education, which is already an Arizona embarrassment, when it comes to funding.
If Arizona hopes to have any chance of rebounding quickly when the economy starts to turn around it’s going to need to have the tools, knowledge and people in place.
As business leaders have already learned to do during this down economy, it’s important to hold on to the best people and encourage their prosperity, even if it means losing someone who is almost the best but not quite.
This next round of budget balancing is going to be even more difficult with much at stake.
It’s also overdue.
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