[PL-Directors] Today's State Revenue Forecast

[Jim Scheppke]

Dear Directors:

Today’s state revenue forecast projects a shortfall in General Fund and Lottery Fund revenue of approximately $560 million in the current biennium. In response to the forecast, Governor Kulongoski has ordered across the board cuts for all agencies equal to about 4.5% of their General Fund/Lottery Fund budgets. In our case this amounts to approximately $152,000. My managers and I will be working to develop a plan for this reduction to take to the State Library Board at their meeting at the Seaside Public Library on June 11th.

We will be examining both of our General Fund programs for potential savings: Talking Book and Braille Services and Library Development Services. Our 10% General Fund reduction plan that we presented in our Agency Request Budget for this biennium cut the entire amount from the Read to Read Grant Program in Library Development Services. If we were to take the entire 4.5% cut from the second year grants it would reduce the grants overall by about 21%. Small libraries are guaranteed a $1,000 minimum grant, so larger libraries would see cuts exceeding 21%.

We are going to do our best to find additional savings so that the cuts to the Ready to Read Grant program can be reduced, at least to some extent. But I am certain that the plan we take to the State Library Board on June 11th will include a very significant cut to the Ready to Read Grants that we will be making this December. I wanted you to know this as soon as possible, since most of you are in the midst of your budget process.

I have attached a table of Ready to Read Grants that assumes that the Board takes the entire $152,000 reduction from the grant program. Please consider this a worst case scenario for your budget planning purposes. We should be able to give you better information in a few weeks.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. We had hoped that the state budget might have stayed balanced until the end of the biennium next June, but that is not turning out to be the case. There will be a new budget forecast in August, so we all need to hope that the forecast begins to turn around.

Please let me know if you have 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:3357649460_1863376]Go Green, Keep it on screen - think before you print.

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