Gov. Mary Fallin gave every state agency until December 1 to turn in a plan that calls for a 10 percent cut in their non-critical appropriations.
But some agencies still haven’t submitted their reports, according to The Journal Record’s Dale Denwalt:
There was no template for how an agency would present hypothetical reductions, but a common thread runs through many of them. In an atmosphere where agencies have already felt the brunt of reduced appropriations, administrators said there’s not much more they can do without affecting services. In the Department of Transportation’s plan to cut 10 percent of its budget, Executive Director Mike Patterson proposed reducing an engineer-in-training program that helps incoming engineers get accustomed to work done at ODOT. More than $400,000 would be pared from the program. There are 33 employees and eight unfilled positions in the training program. Patterson’s reduction plan would leave those positions empty but wouldn’t affect those employed now.
The Department of Health hasn’t provided its plan yet, and five entities under the supervision of Oklahoma’s Secretary of State weren’t told they had to respond. Several others were tardy, including the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, which turned in its 10 percent reduction plan Monday.
Last week, Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger announced a revenue failure that calls for automatic spending cuts to nearly every state agency:
Fallin said that when forecasters saw the energy sector wasn’t going to quickly bounce back, she implemented several orders, which also included consolidation of the state’s aviation fleet and a push to dispose of unused state property. State budget officers are expected to announce by the end of December how much agencies will have to cut to maintain a balanced budget.
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