[PL-Directors] FW: NEWS RELEASE: Governor Orders Allotment Reductions to Balance 2009-2011 Budget

[Jim Scheppke]

Dear Directors:
Today Governor Kulongoski ordered the implementation of the General Fund reduction plans that were submitted to him earlier in the month. He only made one exception to the plans that were submitted, and that was for the Department of Corrections. You can read the details below.

This means that the plan that the State Library Board approved on June 11th has now been put in place. Our General Fund budget has been reduced by $156,780. Of that amount $40,793 was cut from the State Library’s operations budget. The remaining $115,987 will come out of the Ready to Read Grant program grants to public libraries. Grants, which will be made in December, will be reduced by 15% overall.

We are in the process of sending you the grant information packet that contains more detail. You should all receive it in the next week or so.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this.


Jim Scheppke, State Librarian
Oregon State Library
250 Winter St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-378-4367
(fax) 503-585-8059
jim.b.scheppke at state.or.us

[cid:3360067379_1731230]Go Green, Keep it on screen - think before you print.


------ Forwarded Message
From: DILKES Angela * Governor's Office <Angela.Dilkes at state.or.us>
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:03:20 -0700
To: "<Undisclosed recipients:;>"
Subject: NEWS RELEASE: Governor Orders Allotment Reductions to Balance 2009-2011 Budget


   Theodore R. Kulongoski          Governor             [cid:3360067379_1714983]

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2010

Contact:
Anna Richter Taylor, 503-378-6169
Rem Nivens, 503-378-6496
Jillian Schoene, 503-378-5040

Governor Orders Allotment Reductions to Balance 2009-2011 Budget
Governor’s direction to DAS begins 9 percent across-the-board reductions for state agencies

Salem – The Governor today directed the Department of Administrative Services to take action to eliminate the budget deficit for the 2009-2011 budget. Through the allotment authority under ORS 291.261, general fund spending will be reduced by approximately $577 million to bring the state budget into balance. Under state law, the only authority the Governor has to balance the budget is through across-the-board reductions.

“Today marks another step in this difficult process,” Governor Kulongoski said. “With limited options to balance the budget, and growing uncertainty about federal assistance, the longer we wait to implement these reductions, the deeper the cuts will have to be to bring the budget into balance.”

Consistent with state law, this reduction will be equally distributed among state agency appropriations. At this time, the Department is estimating the reduction will equate to about 4.6 percent of each agency’s biennial budget – which in effect represents a 9 percent cut for the last 12 months of the 2009-11 biennium.

“I know these cuts are significant and will impact the lives of thousands of Oregonians across the state,” the Governor said. “But we have to operate with the reality of today and we simply do not have the revenue to fund the level of services approved in the current budget.”

The Governor also restated his intent to ask the legislative emergency board to allocate additional funding to prevent the closure of three prisons and further reduction of community corrections funding.

“Public safety is a priority and I am not willing to close three prisons and release nearly 800 inmates,” the Governor said. “Accordingly, I have directed the Oregon Department of Corrections to not proceed with plans to close any prisons and release inmates. I am confident the legislative emergency board will work with me to ensure these closures do not happen at their meeting in September.”

For the list of agency reductions, click here <http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/BAM/0610AgencyAllotmentReductions.shtml> .

- 30 -



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