Deep cuts, higher fees on the way

Lauren Dorgan leads her budget coverage in the Concord Monitor with the potential impact on state employees:

The plan provides for laying off hundreds of state employees, shuttering the Laconia prison and the Tobey School, cutting social programs, and raising a wide variety of fines and fees. Gov. John Lynch swiftly pledged to sign a budget that he had lobbied hard to pass and billed as "tough but responsible."

The total number of layoffs remains unclear. Lynch said he expects "a minimum of 200 layoffs." The budget requires the governor to trim $25 million more from personnel expenses, a target legislators said they hoped Lynch would reach by negotiating unpaid furloughs with state employee unions. If other solutions aren't found, that cut could mean laying off 750 state employees, although Lynch said yesterday that layoffs are his "least-preferred option."

Keep in mind that this budget actually includes zero layoffs. Not one. The Legislature has directed the Governor to find $25 million in personnel savings, which may come through furloughs or other mechanism. The budget defunds vacant positions, but it may not reduce state payrolls by a single employee.