JUNE 25, 2009 ISSUE
Constituents Voice Budget Concerns to Senator Goss
State Sen. Steve Goss held a district forum on Saturday, June 20, for constituents from the 45th Senate District—Alexander, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties. Goss presented an overview of the state budget, and then constituents voiced their questions and concerns.
Approximately 25 people attended the meeting, and, “for a Saturday morning, I was quite pleased [with the turnout],” Goss said.
Constituents “expressed concern about the dramatic cuts,” he said. “For some, it directly affects their jobs [and] some are concerned about teachers, students and teacher assistants.”
Others raised questions “concerning cuts to mental health, concerning cuts to juvenile justice and [cuts in] other areas of the budget. What I do is take those comments and make sure they’re presented at the different conferences. I’ll take the comments to the chairs of all the different committees,” Goss said.
The House and Senate each bring their proposed budgets to conference meetings, during which time they reconcile the budgets.
The many conference committees include the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), higher education, K-12 education and juvenile justice, to name a few.
“Almost 60 percent of the state budget is distributed through preschool to university levels of education,” Goss said.
As drastic as the budget cuts are, it’s important for constituents to voice their opinions, he added.
The state governor and staff compile a budget for each new fiscal year, which runs July 1 to June 30 of the following year. The state budget for this year was in a $4.7 billion deficit before stimulus funds were dispersed. Although the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) replaced $1.7 billion, the state still faces a $3 billion shortfall.
“State economist Barry Boardman said [to] expect three to five years before we could get back to the revenue of the 2008 year,” Goss said.
According to this prediction, Goss still views the deficit as $4.7 billion, because the one-time stimulus funds will not be available to bolster the budget next year or in subsequent years.
“Another question that came up [at the meeting] that definitely impacts Watauga County is cuts to CTE [Career and Technical Education program] funding,” Goss said.
Funding for these hands-on educational programs has been in a downward spiral over the past few years, even before severe budget cuts were necessary. Now that the budget demands drastic cuts, CTE program funding will lose $14 million this year.
Mr. Jones’ class from Watauga High School placed third in a state competition for auto mechanics in CTE courses, and “this is the kind of project that will be cut,” Goss said, adding that he feels these programs are vital.
“We need people to make things, work [in] construction [and in the] auto [industry]. It’s extremely important to the future of society in my view,” he said. “We’re looking into restoring some of the funding, but the revenue is just not there,” he said.
Other severe cuts will be in health and human services—namely on the Medicaid and Medicare side, which is tied to federal funding—and in programs geared toward preventing juvenile delinquency, such as the North Carolina Eckerd Wilderness Camps, which serve boys and girls ages 10 through 17 with behavioral problems.
“Programs like Eckerd’s have shown real success [and] I hate to see programs like that cut,” Goss said. “No matter where we turn, someone is going to be hurt.”
The state deficit has been caused by the sharp decline in automobile sales and by Chrysler and GM filing for Chapter 11, he said.
“[Cars] are a big tax item for the state of North Carolina,” Goss said.
In addition to sales tax, the state depends on income tax and corporate tax revenues. A portion of sales tax revenues are sent back to the counties and towns, he said.
The North Carolina Constitution requires the state to balance its budget each year.
To compensate for the North Carolina budget shortfalls, “some folks want to raise taxes,” Goss said. The Senate has proposed the first major tax reform since 1933, which would lower taxes for individuals earning less than $70,000 a year, but it has not yet been approved, he added.
“The [budget] cuts are so severe, in my view, [that] this will set back education a decade,” he said. “We’re looking at every possible solution, [and we’re] still talking about what the solution will be.”
If the budget is not ready by July 1, the General Assembly will have to obtain a continuation, “but we don’t want to rush the final budget either,” he said, adding that some think the budget could be finalized within 10 days and others say it will not be ready for two months.
Practically every state in the nation is dealing with some effects of the current consumer-led recession, and North Carolina is somewhere in the middle in terms of severity, Goss said.
“We are not nearly as bad off as some [states],” he said. “California is kind of a poster child.”
California has a $24 billion deficit, and closing 27 state parks to be sold to private owners is on the state’s current agenda, he added.
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