[ODF_Private_Forests] Update on ODF 2009-11 Budget Planning Outlook

[WEEKS Kevin]

ODF Private Forests News list members:

An updated message regarding the development of the 2009-2011 Budget for the Oregon Department of Forestry - and revisions to the current 2007-2009 ODF Budget - was issued today by Associate State Forester Clark Seely and the Division Chiefs of ODF Private Forests and ODF Fire Protection, Jim Paul and Paul Bell.

Questions about the Private Forests News service?
Contact:

Kevin Weeks
ODF Agency Affairs / Private Forests Division
(503) 945-7427

________________________________
From: PAUL Jim T
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 2:09 PM
To: ALL FORESTRY
Subject: Update on ODF 2009-11 Budget Planning Outlook

Hello everyone -

We reached another important milestone in our budget planning on Wednesday with the announcement of the latest quarterly state government revenue forecast.  The news was not positive. The trouble throughout the economy directly affects the amount of tax revenue available to state government. At the same time, economic downturns increase the need for many of the social services that state government provides.

The new forecast indicates the state will be more than $1 billion short of the funds needed to continue current services into the 2009-11 biennium, which begins next July 1. Additionally, as you may have seen in the news, the forecast showed an ending deficit of about $140 million for the current two-year budget period ending June 30.

To address the current deficit, the Governor has directed state agencies to reduce General Fund spending by about 1.2 percent for the remainder of the 2007-09 biennium. It appears that we can make the necessary reductions at ODF through savings already achieved during the biennium, and through other spending restrictions, including keeping some positions vacant. Additional information will be coming out on our plans for implementing the Governor's direction.

For 2009-11, reduction planning work is broadening
The situation is more serious for 2009-11. In earlier messages, we have discussed a 10 percent reduction scenario for 2009-11, developed for the Governor's consideration in crafting his recommended budget, which he will release on December 1. The Legislature recently asked agencies to develop scenarios for an additional 10 percent reduction, in five percent increments. We are working on details of this new scenario.

General Fund exists primarily in our Private Forests and Protection programs. In planning the initial 10 percent reduction scenario, we focused on Private Forests because of the risks involved in reducing initial attack capacity.

We now face more difficult choices in producing a scenario for an additional 10 percent reduction. Regardless of how we go about determining what this higher level of reduction would look like, both the Private Forests and Fire Protection programs would be unavoidably impacted at both the headquarters and field level. At this point, our approach is to plan the first half of this additional reduction in Private Forests, and the second half in Fire Protection.

We're still working to provide a more detailed picture of how such an approach would affect the agency. As we've done up to this point, we will continue to plan reduction scenarios that maintain public services and staff resources to the greatest extent possible, given the resources we have. However, General Fund reductions as large as 20 percent would clearly have major effects on the agency.

In Private Forests, under a 15 percent reduction - the initial 10 percent plus half of a second potential 10 percent - our Salem staff would be reduced to about a dozen or so positions, and program-specific field staff would be reduced by about 50%.  In Salem we would retain limited capacity for civil penalty administration, forest practices field support, and compliance auditing, along with a number of federally funded positions. In the field we would retain about half of our current Stewardship Forester positions.

In Protection, a five percent reduction would mean the loss of some Salem staff positions, as well as about two million dollars in General Fund reductions for District offices that we are still working to define.

Uncertainty about reductions remains
Although at this point the various reduction plans are just that - plans - the economic situation suggests that we will have to implement reductions at some level for 2009-11.

We will know considerably more when the Governor releases his recommended budget on December 1. This budget will indicate agencies' proposed General Fund and other allocations, and will reflect the Governor's public policy priorities and his plan for reducing expenditures to match available resources.

The Governor's recommendation will go to the 2009 Legislature, which will work during the first half of next year to adopt a 2009-2011 budget. Quarterly revenue forecasts, typically released in March and May, will provide better information about the outlook as the Legislature does its work.

The process requires us to wait some months before we are certain of the resources we will have in 2009-11. But this interval also gives us time to prepare for reductions - so we can maintain staff resources to the greatest extent possible, and so we and our stakeholders understand what services we can provide to Oregonians with the funds we have available.

We must create a vision, articulate values and set expectations
As we move through the reduction phases ahead, we must determine what our Private Forests Program can accomplish with its reduced capacity, and how we will achieve this vision. It's also important that we seek to maintain core values and goals, even as we experience a period of reduced resources.

For instance, our 10 percent General Fund reduction scenario would eliminate dedicated funding to support the Oregon Plan and other recovery efforts. However, our program goals and objectives will continue to support these efforts, through continued enforcement of the Forest Practices Act and other activities at levels consistent with our resources.  In the next few months there will be further discussion about program vision, internally and externally, as we move forward.

Perhaps the only certainty at this point is that the budget outlook, and our plans, will continue to change in the coming months. However, we will continue to follow our guiding principles, including retaining as many of our employees as we can, providing support to those whose current positions are affected by reductions, and striving to maintain for the public a core set of priority services.

We appreciate your continued commitment to service and dedication to ODF's mission during these difficult and uncertain times. We will continue to share information with you as the situation changes, and as we fill in more details about the reduction scenarios. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact any Executive Team member.


Jim Paul                                           Paul Bell                                         Clark Seely
Private Forests Division Chief        Fire Protection Division Chief        Associate State Forester
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