Munjoy Hill Observer - January 2010
January 1, 2010 -
As 2009 draws to a close, I must state the obvious: it's been a challenging year for Portland and Maine. Last year saw one awful economic report after another. Although a full-scale economic depression was avoided, we are now in the more familiar old-fashioned recession. Yet the pain is far from over. As I get ready to return to the Legislative full time on January 6th, the economic outlook is bleak.
When we passed the budget last May of 2009, we included a $30 million placeholder, requiring the Appropriations Committee to find $30 million in savings from the 2011 budget. To date, the Appropriations Committee has found about $20 million in savings, mostly from a reduction in debt service, which leaves an additional $10 million to be found.
Next, the biennial budget inherited a $25 million shortfall from the 2009 budget.
Finally, in additional to $35 million in cuts, Maine has an even bigger problem looming on the horizon: an approximately $400 million revenue shortfall which will require even more cuts.
Many people, myself included, believe we cannot keep cutting the budget so drastically without finding alternatives to recoup those losses. Unfortunately, the Governor is unwilling to do anything that would increase revenue and soften the blow to our essential services. This leaves us in the unenviable position of finding another $438 million in the budget to cut.
The Governor has issued a curtailment, which is a short-term reduction in spending until the Legislature can pass a supplemental budget. This curtailment, totaling $63 million, comes mostly from Education and Health and Human Services. Education was cut $38 million and Health and Human Services was cut $11 million. These two areas make up the largest portion of the budget, which makes them ripe for cuts, but they also have the biggest impact in people's lives.
For Portland, the curtailment means that our K-12 schools will lose $2.65 million for the remaining six months of this year. (The State's fiscal year ends on June 31, 2010.) In addition to the cuts to our K-12 schools, University of Southern Maine will take a cut of $1.5 million for the final six months of 2010. Finally, Portland's health and human service cuts are hard to quantify yet, but programs and services will be impacted. Some of the services that might see changes include: mental health and mental retardation services, elder services and adoptive family services.
This year saw almost every facet of Maine's economy shrink. Businesses, government and non-profits have had to re-prioritize. These decisions have not been easy, but I am confident that Portland and Maine will work together so that we can get out of this recession as quickly as we can. Finally, I am thankful that the economy is slowly improving.
I wish everyone a happy, safe, and healthy start to 2010. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you!
