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Budget tops to-do list for legislators
Published 4/20/2009 in Local News : Politics
By SHAJIA AHMAD
Southwest Kansas legislators vowed to use as much forethought as possible before returning to Topeka at the end of the month to reopen debate about next fiscal year's state budget, expected to end with a deficit of nearly $330 million.
"We've got some tough choices to make, but we have to balance this budget," said Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler. "With these challenges, we're hoping for some opportunities."
Opportunities to translate budget shortfalls into workable solutions and optimism that the contentious debate over two proposed coal-fired power plants is near its end dominated Saturday's conversation between state lawmakers and the public at the Legislative Coffee, hosted by the Garden City Area Chamber of Commerce.
Lawmakers lamented that state agencies and school districts would see further cuts in spending — about a 5- to 6-percent cut across the board — due to the severity of the recession, one that is expected to put Kansas in a 1-percent, gross-state-product decline for the first time since World War II, state lawmakers said.
"The magnitude of this budget crisis is unprecedented, at least for the last 70 years," said Rep. Jeff Whitham, R-Garden City. "We're going to have to look at every piece of the state puzzle before proceeding."
More cuts
In light of the additional cuts lawmakers are facing, several officials representing area educational, roadway and infrastructure and social service organizations pleaded with their state legislators to consider the consequences of squeezing their budgets too tight, lest they cripple valuable services.
USD 457 Superintendent of Schools Rick Atha expressed his concern that any additional spending cuts would mean scaling back a labor-intensive school system: Between 80 and 85 percent of the district's funds go to teacher and administrative salaries.
"Where the rubber meets the road, there are teachers and paraprofessionals in the classroom educating students that are in danger," Atha said, in addition to expressing his worries about special-education programs and continuing to provide other social and health services through the school system.
Lawmakers said they would attempt to do as good a job as possible to keep cuts in the school districts as low as possible, but did not rule out the possibility of 2- to 4-percent cuts.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has proposed alternative ways to counter reductions in expected tax revenue and a weak state economy that is creating the shortfall in a $13 billion state budget already approved, including freezing estate and corporate franchise taxes and relying on possible gambling revenues. However, much of the Republican-controlled Legislature has expressed wariness over the governor's tax proposal.
On Saturday, lawmakers stressed that tax increases were not an option they would seriously consider and that it would only amplify problems for cash-strapped families and small-business owners.
"That's not the thing to do to people at a time like this. We'll have to try to do everything we can with our current resources," Sen. Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said, reiterating several lawmakers' sentiments that readjustments to the budget are the only viable option.
Fired up
Several state lawmakers said Saturday they felt optimistic about rallying their colleagues' votes to override the latest action by Gov. Sebelius in opposition to two proposed coal-fired plants — her fourth such veto of similar legislation in the last two years — when they return April 29 for their annual wrap-up session.
"It's hard to believe that in these economic times, others would ignore $3.6 billion worth of economic development in this area," Morris said. "We need the power, and we need the energy security."
Sebelius' administration rejected air-quality permits for the proposed plants by Hays-based Sunflower Electric Power Corp. in 2007, citing concerns about potential carbon dioxide emissions that could contribute to global warming.
A Colorado-based electricity supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, had hoped to buy power from the coal-fired plants that Sunflower Electric Power Corp. has proposed building at its Holcomb site.
As the dispute drags on, Tri-State officials announced they would be keeping the Holcomb project out of their near-term picture without pulling out their support for Sunflower. In the meantime, the supplier said it would be investing instead in renewable energy in addition to increasing natural gas capacity.
Reps. Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, and Bill Light, R-Rolla, also were in attendance Saturday. Rep. Larry Powell, R-Garden City, was unable to attend due to a prior family-related commitment, organizers said.
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Clean Coal Electric Power
It"s time for more Clean Coal Electric Power. We do the best we can and move along. My suggestion is to design the power generating plant so it can be much easier to add scrubbers of some kinds at a later date.
Posted by: Gene Sky on 4/20/2009
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