Tagged: budget

The Fremont County Board of Commissioners is hoping the State Loan and Investments Board will approve its application for a $2.6 million dollar grant to build a Riverton justice center.

It would cover half the cost of a new building to house offices for the sheriff and county attorneys, as well as a circuit court.

Riverton Circuit Court Judge Wesley Roberts says the small pre-fab building they’re currently using has long been insufficient.

Grand Teton National Park says that because of the federal sequestration, it will be hiring fewer seasonal workers this summer and will be making cuts to emergency response teams.

The park was instructed to trim its budget by $700,000 for the next six months. Park Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott says the changes will be noticeable.

“We know there will be delays in responding to search and rescue, as well as medical emergencies and law enforcement,” Scott said.

She says they will also have fewer fire fighters.

Cheyenne Regional Airport could lose its air tower as a result of the federal sequester. The Federal Aviation Administration is losing funding for 100 towers nationwide, each of which serve airports with a limited number of flights.

David Haring is director of aviation at the airport. He says the airport will continue to operate… but losing the air tower is a big deal, because it’s an important safety tool.

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead has line item vetoed three areas of the state supplemental budget.  The governor vetoed a section that involved the management of surplus state money and he vetoed a section that required state agencies to consider more budget cuts.  Mead says it doesn’t make sense for agencies to re-do that exercise, especially since it’s possible that the state may get more revenue.

The Wyoming House and Senate have reached a budget agreement on a $78 million supplemental budget and will send it to the Governor for his consideration.  While there was no discussion in the Senate, several representatives in the House were concerned that instead of cutting government…the legislature is spending more.  But House Appropriations Chairman Steve Harshman says most of the money is one-time spending.

As the Legislature irons out the final details of the State budget, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee says lawmakers were forward-thinking with the budget. 

During a news conference, Senator Eli Bebout of Riverton said the spending reductions and cuts to some agencies were needed to get the budget in shape for future spending. 

An attempt to remove funding from the University of Wyoming’s College of Engineering failed in the state House of Representatives. 

Jackson Representative Keith Gingery fought to remove $55 million that will be spent to upgrade the UW College of Engineering, because the state has other needs.     

State lawmakers have started reviewing the proposed supplemental state budget.  The budget features an average of six and a half percent cuts and limits new spending.

House Appropriations Chairman Steve Harshman says the legislature will have some money that can be added to the budget if needed.             

“So after accounting for other bills with appropriations in them, today there is 13 million dollars on the table for saving or spending.  And the smallest supplemental budget in a decade…in ten years…in terms of expenditures.”

The legislative panel responsible for drafting a supplemental Wyoming state budget bill recommends that lawmakers reject Gov. Matt Mead's proposal to cut the flow of energy revenues going into permanent savings and school construction.

Mead wants Wyoming to build up its so-called rainy day fund in case the state needs ready cash to deal with projected flat energy revenues in the years to come.

The Wyoming Legislature is set to convene at noon today for the first day of its general session, which is set to run through early March.
 
Lawmakers generally take care of housekeeping matters on the first day and won't get down to business until after Gov. Matt Mead delivers his annual state of the state address tomorrow morning.
 

Wyoming House Speaker-elect Tom Lubnau says crafting a supplemental state budget will be the "overriding concern" as lawmakers open the 2013 session tomorrow

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State financial analysts are warning that Wyoming needs to brace for flat revenues for years to come, given the slumping national demand for coal and increasing natural gas production in other states.

Gov. Matt Mead presented a budget proposal to lawmakers last month calling for cutting state agency budgets by an average of 6.5 percent.

As the legislature considers cutting budgets next month, some members are taking issue with comments that the state has doubled its budget over the last ten years.  Incoming House Appropriations Chairman Steve Harshman says the state spent money on things ranging from the Hathaway Scholarship to improving neglected infrastructure across the state.  Harshman says some of that spending also went into funds that should help the state in future years.

Last week, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead released his proposed budget and he will present that budget to the legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee on Monday.  The budget features some cuts and a couple of policy decisions.  The Governor joins us now.

This week Governor Matt Mead is submitting his proposed budget to Wyoming legislators.  The budget will include some spending priorities, but will also feature a wide range of budget cuts, some as high as eight percent.  K-12 education has been viewed by lawmakers as untouchable due to the fact that the state lost an expensive lawsuit over school funding.  But Mead believes some adjustments can be made in the amount of spending that goes into new schools.

Wyoming leaders are shell-shocked after learning that Congress has arranged to take hundreds of millions of dollars money from the Abandoned Mine Lands program to fund a federal transportation bill.

Wyoming coal producers have paid $2.9 billion into the program, and the state was guaranteed $1.9 billion back for reclamation efforts. The cut would reduce Wyoming’s share by about 700 million dollars over the next decade. That money is used for a variety of projects.  

Bob Beck recently spoke with Gov. Matt Mead in his office about a number of topics including proposed state budget cuts.

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead says he wants state agencies to look at program reductions but not job cuts when they come up with plans to reduce the state budget. 

Because of declining natural gas prices, the governor is asking all state agencies to be prepared to reduce their budgetseight percent by July first of 2013.  Mead said during a news conference that many of the reductions can be done without layoffs.

The Wyoming Legislature has approved a $3.2-billion budget bill which now goes to Gov. Matt Mead for his consideration.

The budget bill approved by both Houses on Monday keeps state spending essentially flat over the coming two-year budget cycle.

State lawmakers are keeping a close eye on falling natural gas prices and had directed state agencies to prepare for possible 4-percent budget cuts next year if necessary.

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During his state of the state message Governor Matt Mead said that Wyoming is doing well.  He said Wyoming does not have the severe budget constraints that other statesface, but that a downturn in projected revenue means that the state has to curb its spending.

“I have not recommended deep across the board cuts to agencies,” Mead said. “Instead I used a targeted approach identifying those areas where we could slow or even reduce growth.  Some cuts have been made, but we should distinguish between cuts and reducing growth.  There is a real difference.”

University of Wyoming President Tom Buchanan says employee salary increases might not be possible if the state legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee requires steep cuts in the university’s next biennial block grant.
U-W requested an additional $9.7 million dollars be allocated to give U-W employees a pay increase in its next budget. However, the J-A-C has asked state departments to make plans for two, five and eight percent budget cuts to cope with diminished state revenue from natural gas prices.

Governor Matt Mead says falling natural gas prices make this a good time to reevaluate his proposed budget. In December, the governor submitted his budget, which asked agencies to present a two-percent cut to their budgets. That budget was based on natural gas prices which were nearly $3.50 per MCF at the time.

Governor Matt Mead presented his budget to the Joint Appropriations Committee and re-asserted his position that the state does not need to hurry to cut budgets.

Senate JAC Chairman Phil Nicholas has suggested cuts of five to eight percent are needed, so that the state can start setting aside money for future needs.  Governor Mead says they should decide what government services are critical and determine what money the state would need to fund those services.