State Budget Cuts Slice Community Program Funding Educational, Health Initiatives Dampened by Recession

Author: By Megan MichelsonLocal News Editor

While the national economy struggles through a period of recession, the Vermont legislatures are attempting to avoid sinking lower into a similar state of economic turmoil. Vermont residents will be affected by upcoming budget cutbacks, including possible cuts from the treasury accounts that provide money to public schools, road maintenance, health services and other general operations.

According to an article in The Rutland Herald, Vermont Governor Howard Dean will give a presentation of the state budget to lawmakers at the end of January. In his talk, Dean will show that tax collection totals for the months of November and December were definitively lower than they have been in previous years. This will result in an inevitable decrease in personal income tax totals for the state, a sum that usually represents Vermont's largest source of revenue and provides funds for half of the state's budget.

In December a total of $36.6 million was acquired in personal income taxes, an amount that was $7.1 million less than the amount predicted for the month's total. The decrease in taxes will cause legislatures to make cuts in the budget, which will affect citizens of Vermont on a personal level.

The cuts have already begun to influence services offered in the Middlebury area and local officials are beginning to express dismay. Executive Director at the Addison County Chamber of Commerce Linda Stern stated, "Any time cuts are made from a program that provides revenue to the state of Vermont for services, I am concerned." However, specific knowledge on which areas of revenue will be targeted will be unclear until final budget related decisions are made. "Until legislature discusses where cuts will be, it's hard to know where the impact is going to be," Stern said.

According to Barbara Harding, the travel-marketing director at the Chamber of Commerce, the budget cuts have already affected the town's spending. "We are expecting an additional five percent reduction in terms of funding used for regional marketing," said Harding. Fortunately, the cuts have not forced the Chamber to reduce salaries, eliminate positions or terminate the production of the county's marketing magazine. "We have made adjustments to the budget in the office, and although we're expecting more budget cuts in the 2003 fiscal year, we will have to deal with it," concluded Harding.

The Patricia Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury offers adult education and career training, however due to recent cuts of non-degree grants, tuition assistance is no longer offered to adults seeking to enhance their skills. Nancy Slater Cobden, the adult services coordinator at the Career Center, explained that in any given year nearly 100 adults use the government grants to take training programs and without that option, it limits their access to jobs. "It doesn't make sense to me. People are loosing jobs due to the state of the economy, yet legislature is cutting off the one avenue adults have to gain training to apply for new jobs," commented Cobden.

Jim Daly, president of Porter Medical Center, said that the upcoming budget cuts could affect important areas of the hospital and Medicare financing. Although no specific information regarding this year's budget cuts at the hospital exists as of yet, Daly is worried about the future. "I'm concerned the cuts will have an impact on services, which will affect patients and residents," Daly said. He said he knows that there is no easy solution to the economic situation and stated, "There is no federal surplus and the state of Vermont will have a challenging time dealing with the budget."

Lawmakers will begin to review Governor Dean's proposals for budget cuts following his presentation later this month and will then begin to work on the budget for the fiscal year 2003.

Dean, who is considered a fiscal conservative, wishes to avoid using money from the $44 million that are held in the state's "rainy day" reserves. Dean disapproves of increased school spending at a time when the budget is so limited and suggests examining the costs of less necessary state services.

However, there is hope for an improved economic state in upcoming months. In a Jan. 13, 2002, article in The Rutland Herald, state economists predicted a recovery of the economy in March. The editor of The Vermont Economy Newsletter Richard Heaps said, "The recession in Vermont will be shallower than the United States' recession."