Daily Archive for September 5th, 2009

Facing Reality: If No Shutdowns, Layoffs

No court decision, wishful thinking, or public posturing can change the harsh financial realities the State faces:

the General Assembly called for $68 million in unspecified savings in FY 2010 (the fiscal year that runs from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010)
state revenues for May and June were $65 million below estimates
state revenues may continue to decline in the months ahead
Governor Carcieri prefers a negotiated agreement with the leaders of unions that represent state workers in the Executive branch, an agreement that would use a number of unpaid work days to save the money necessary to close the gap, in addition to other measures. The Governor and his staff have had ongoing discussions with the union leaders for the past couple of months. While some unions have been amenable to such a solution, others have adamantly refused to work together to solve the state’s fiscal problems.

With this best alternative eliminated, the Governor went to a second way to achieve these savings, shutdown days. The state government was prepared to follow that plan, but it has been postponed by Justice Goldberg’s decision that delays a court ruling until the case can be heard by the full RI Supreme Court on September 11 and barred the first shutdown day.

Time is not on the State’s side. The Governor cannot wait to take action to balance the budget and maintain the financial health of the State. So, he has started the process of laying off workers to achieve the necessary savings.