Governor Doug Burgum has issued the guidelines for state agencies to develop their budget requests for the 2025-2027 biennium.
And he's calling for "belt tightening."
"We believe that reductions on the budget guidelines are an important tool to drive innovation," Burgum told state agency heads. "We are issuing guidelines that ask agencies to tighten their belts, just as our citizens have had to tighten their belts because of the high costs of goods and services created by high inflation."
Burgum is asking agencies with budgets of more than $10 million in general and/or special funds to identify a three percent reduction. Agencies will again have an opportunity to submit proposals that could require more spending, as a contingency.
Burgum was asked about employee raises. He said in the last budget, agencies were able to find efficiencies in other places, to allow for pay increases.
"If we have the baby boomers retiring, and we can figure out a way to get the work done with fewer people, we need to think about a state government that has less, but higher-paid, team members."
Burgum will present his final executive budget proposal to the Legislature’s December reorganizational session. He did not seek re-election as Governor.
