Idaho's Shrinking Budget
by Senator Brent Hill
Ever since Governor Otter proposed his budget in January, he has come under fire for doing what the Idaho Constitution demands of him: to not spend more than the state has. He incorporated many money-saving ideas received from Idaho citizens into his budget proposal—all of which, though helpful, made only a small dent in our budget problems.
Here are the facts: 94% of Idaho’s General Fund goes to what are called the “Big Three:” 9% to Public Safety, 20% to Health and Welfare, and 65% to education. That leaves only 6% to run all the rest of government, including state parks, water resources, agriculture, economic development, the labor department, etc.
So, when state revenues tumble 20%, like they have over the past two years, it doesn’t take a CPA to understand that we could completely eliminate all of state government, except the “Big Three,” and still not have enough money to balance the budget.
Consequently, the governor and the legislature have chipped away at Public Safety, reducing the State Police budget and eliminating staff at our prisons. There comes a point, however, when further cuts jeopardize the safety of the remaining prison staff or force the release of potentially dangerous criminals into society.
Most divisions of Health and Welfare have also been greatly curtailed, but over three-fourths of the department’s general fund budget is used to pay the state Medicaid match mandated by the federal government.
Idaho’s universities have suffered repeated cuts in state funds. Only our K-12 public schools have been spared reductions in funding due largely to emergency funds that were created by the legislature and additional aid from the federal government . . . until now. Emergency funds are nearly depleted and unlike the feds, the state cannot print its own money or borrow to pay its bills.
That brings us to Governor Otter’s proposal to cut programs and wean some agencies from government support—all in an effort to protect our public schools. Each agency and program is of greatest importance to someone, but it is simply impossible to fund every citizen’s priority.
“Just raise sales tax a penny and fix the problem,” is the solution often submitted. Certainly, every penny helps, but just to bring Idaho’s revenues back to where they were two years ago, our state sales tax would have to be raised from 6% to over 9%! In a time when many of Idaho’s citizens are unemployed or underemployed, losing their homes or businesses, tax increases could be devastating to them and could stall economic recovery.
Armed with the fact that we must either tackle the Big Three or raise taxes significantly, we can provide our governor and legislators valuable feedback. Positive changes to the governor’s budget, such as the preservation of the Department of Parks and Recreation, have already been made based on citizen input.
Idaho faces unprecedented challenges this year, but we can enjoy a bright and prosperous future if we effectively meet the challenges of today.