Gov. Walker releases revised state budget proposal

The complete proposal can be found at the Office of Management and Budget website.

On Thursday, Governor Bill Walker released his amended budget proposal for next fiscal year.  Walker describes the state’s projected budget deficit as about $10 million per day, in large part due to low oil prices.  Oil revenues account for as much as ninety percent of the state’s total income.

Governor Walker has said since taking office that cuts will be necessary in order to bring state expenditures closer to revenues.  While the state does have billions in reserve, current estimates show that those could be depleted in just a few years if the budget deficit were to remain as it currently stands.  Walker says he is aiming to cut down on overhead while minimizing impacts on state services.

The revised budget amounts to roughly a nine percent reduction in expenditures.  Pat Pitney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, says that the total dollar figure is about $550 million.  With that comes the elimination of some government jobs.  The Governor’s office estimates that the nearly $240 million in cuts to the operating budget eliminates more than 300 positions.  Both Governor Walker and members of his cabinet said on Thursday that  those cuts don’t mean 300 people will be laid off.  The administration says many of the positions are currently unfilled or will be left vacant by attrition within the next year.

Education also saw a reduction of approximately two-and-a-half percent from the 2015 Fiscal Management Plan.  Pat Pitney says those cuts represent the one-time funding approved by the legislature last year.  She says the Base Student Allocation formula is intact in the Governor’s proposal.

Capital projects saw the biggest reduction, down to $150 million in state funds.  Many projects, especially those under the Department of Transportation, use federal money.  The only project in the House District that includes the Upper Valley to make the cut is $1.3 million in federal money for improvements to the Talkeetna State Airport.

Other local impacts will depend on decisions made in different parts of state government.  The Alaska State Council on the Arts, which awards grants to the Denali Arts Council among other groups, did not get a reduction in Governor Walker’s latest budget.  The Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission, which helps fund organizations like KTNA, is currently listed for a reduction of just over $1 million, or about twenty percent of its total budget.

The next step for Governor Walker’s proposal is review by the Alaska State Legislature.  Legislators can make cuts or additions to the proposed budget before passing it, but final approval then goes back to Governor Walker.