Budget Cuts

[talon]

For the 4th straight year, we are getting deep budget cuts. We're getting hit with a 7% budget cut on top of the 8% one we got in January (and no guarantee we won't get another cut later in the year) and the 22% total budget cuts we got last year...and the year before, and the year before. How do they expect us to operate with such severe budget restrictions? We're already doing furloughs and workloughs and have taken pay cuts and had more of our personal pay taken to cover "benefits" we can't afford to use and laid off 1/3 of our staff.

The departments that got the hardest hits: the Secretary of State - eliminated, the Human Rights Commission - eliminated, Consumer Credit Protection - 38%, Judicial Complaints Commission - 67%, OK Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs - 33%, OSSM - 15%, Fire Marshal - 9%, Indigent Defense - 9%, Civil Emergency Management - 8%, Merit Protection - 7%, Ethics Commission - 5%, Libraries - 7%, Arts Council - 9%. Odd how it's the agencies that protect the citizens the most and provide the most benefits that took the greatest hits.

And the ones that benefit rich people got increases: Corporation Commission - up 15%, Supreme Court - up 12%, Senate and House - up 7% - those stand out because they are the only ones to see budget increases.