After talking for months in general terms about impending budget cuts, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine announced today a more detailed plan to address a $973 million revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year, which runs through 2009. About $400 million will come from the “Revenue Stablization Fund,” but the rest is mostly coming through spending reductions and state agency cuts. Included in that are 570 layoffs, the elimination of 800 unfilled positions, and continued hiring freezes across the board.
“I know that the layoffs associated with these cuts come at a challenging time for state employees, and I regret that they are necessary,” said Kaine in a press release. “I have instructed the Virginia Employment Commission and our Human Resources Department to help those state employees who are laid off through this difficult transition.”
The plan also delays a 2 percent state employee raise that was slated for November, pushing it back until July. Higher ed institutions are looking at 5 to 7 percent cuts. And services will be cut back in Medicaid, the Department of Aging and Community Service Boards like Region Ten. Kaine says that K-12 education and public safety are “protected.”
State government is still working on what to do with fiscal year 2010, which has a projected shortfall of $1.54 billion.
“The shortfall for 2010 is projected to be even greater, and while I will work to protect items like employee raises, we must keep open the possibility that they may have to be eliminated altogether as we make additional reductions,” said Kaine. “We will continue to examine every government expenditure for performance and efficiency, but we will have to look at new ways of doing things and ask ourselves hard questions about all of our programs.”
Click here for a full version of Kaine’s plan.