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North Carolina: Easley budget would use lottery money (*note: not yet legal*), local reimbursements
Durham Herald-Sun (Durham, NC) ^ | May 22, 2002 | Scott Mooneyham, AP Writer

Posted on 05/22/2002 5:43:45 AM PDT by Constitution Day



Easley budget would use lottery money, local reimbursements

By SCOTT MOONEYHAM, Associated Press Writer
May 22, 2002   12:52 am

RALEIGH, N.C. --
Gov. Mike Easley depends on highway money and proceeds from a lottery that's yet to be approved, rather than a tax hike, to balance next year's state budget.

Easley presented a $14.3 billion budget proposal to legislators Tuesday, saying it accomplishes his goal of preserving progress in the public schools.

"We cannot just cut or tax our way out of a recession. We have to grow our way out of a recession. We have to invest in our people and in our work force through education, and be smarter about the way we do it," he said.

Easley and state lawmakers are grappling with the worst budget crisis in decades, created by slowing tax collections in weak economy.

Already, the governor has had to squeeze state agencies to deal with a budget shortfall in the current fiscal year expected to reach $1.5 billion. That comes a year after state tax collections fell $830 million short of expectations.

Easley's proposed budget calls for nets cuts of $440 million from state agency spending. In addition, he would rely on $210 million in highway money, $330 million in reimbursements taken from cities and counties, and $250 million in lottery proceeds.

The budget plan would eliminate 1,280 vacant jobs and 1,404 filled positions. Non-teaching university employees would make up more than a third of the employees to be laid off, with 526 currently filled jobs to be eliminated.

Another 337 prison employees would be laid off.

But the budget also calls for 619 new prison positions to be created, and for 542 new university jobs. Another 582 public school jobs, most of them teachers, would also be created.

Easley budget adviser Dan Gerlach predicted that about three-quarters of those who lost jobs would be able to find other positions in state government.

"There is stuff in here that we did not want to do," Gerlach said.

While deciding to take back the $330 million in local reimbursements, Easley said he would work for legislation to accelerate a plan giving local governments the authority to pass a half-cent sales tax increase. The General Assembly has provided the reimbursements to cities and counties after doing away with taxes on stocks and inventory.

Easley added that he was still unsure what options local governments want in trying to create a replacement revenue source.

He rejected notions that pulling the reimbursements equates to a budget with a tax increase.

"There is no tax increase in the budget. It's saying there will be no local reimbursements," Easley said.

The budget proposal calls for no revenue growth in the next year, meaning that Easley isn't counting on tax collections to increase.

Roughly $54 million in lottery proceeds would go to class size reductions and Easley's preschool program initiative, More at Four. The remainder would go for the enrollment increases and teacher bonuses, but that would be temporary until the state was able to expand the class size reductions and preschool program.

The spending plan includes no salary increase for most state employees. Teachers would receive a so-called step salary increase, costing $51 million. The increase would average 1.84 percent. They would also receive school performance bonuses.

It would also cut out contributions to the state retirement system, which fiscal analysts say is already flush with cash and will be able to meet future obligations.

Legislative budget writers say the plan isn't so far from the budget proposal that they are considering, but just like last year questioned putting proceeds from a lottery not yet approved on their ledgers.

"I frankly think that the lottery is so uncertain that I'm not willing to approach it on that basis," said Sen. Howard Lee, D-Orange, one of the co-chairs of the Senate budget writing committee.

Lee added that it will be difficult to justify any expansion in the budget, even for Easley's school initiatives.

"We have not thought this would have a year to expand. We've thought first and foremost we've got to hold the line," he said.

URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/state/6-229439.html


© Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. All material on heraldsun.com is copyrighted by The Durham Herald Company and may not be reproduced or redistributed in any medium except as provided in the site's Terms of Use.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: North Carolina
KEYWORDS: lottery; nc; northcarolina; oldnorthstate; taxes; unhelpful
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To: Constitution Day
I know where Easley can get $12 million. Just give back Jim Anthony's confiscated property near Brevard.


21 posted on 05/22/2002 6:24:28 PM PDT by snopercod
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To: Hard Case
Why do local polocitians go on retreats to the resorts of NC using state money?
22 posted on 05/23/2002 12:22:42 PM PDT by Baseballguy
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To: Baseballguy
Because they are nobility of course. They work hard at taking away our rights and they just plum wears them out. Why should they have to pay their own way? They did all this for us therefore we must owe them rest and relaxation so they can come back full of vigor to take any freedoms we have left.

You know what's even better? They pass laws just for their trips. They charted a bus one year to go down to the coast. Well the aristocracy found out that they weren't allowed to have open containers on the trip down. So then they passed a law allowing open containers in vehicles. The only stipulation was that there had to be one less open container thatn occupants in the vehicle. Well the citizens found out about that one. I even tried it out and we got pulled over. No problem. Well you can't have people doing what the "enlightened ones" want to do themselves so they pass another law saying that open containers are only allowed on charter busses, I think limmo's as well, but I don't think in taxis. Don't worry though, they only have you on their altruistic agenda.

23 posted on 05/24/2002 1:06:28 PM PDT by Hard Case
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To: Baseballguy
Well now, some do spread it around. Remember seeing where Winston-Salem's people took a few trips to NYC? Stayed at and ate the finest. Little trip to Hawaii thown in there too. Wouldn't want the big city boys think they had anything on the bucolic gang.
24 posted on 05/24/2002 10:53:02 PM PDT by doglot
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