North Dakota state general fund agencies have sliced a total of nearly $245 million out of their budgets.
That’s just over four percent of general fund spending approved by the 2015 Legislature. That amount was the allotment ordered by Governor Dalrymple to help meet a more than $1 billion shortfall in tax collections, due to low oil and agriculture prices.
"Just about all of them (state agencies) have tapped into salaries and operating," said state budget director Pam Sharp. "I'm glad to see that, because that is ongoing expenditures. And looking forward to next biennium, when we might have a tough budget, they might need to look at these very things, salaries and operating."
Sharp says many agencies are cutting back on projects, reducing travel costs, eliminating or delaying hiring of some vacant positions, and lowering raises. She says she doesn’t believe there have been any layoffs.
"The Governor and Lt. Governor are taking zero (raises)," said Sharp. "And they are asking senior staff and cabinet agency heads to take a two percent increase, too."
State human services director Maggie Anderson says as part of the allotment process, her department had to slice $54 million from its budget. Anderson told Capitol reporters her department “left no stone unturned” when looking for savings. One area was in personnel.
"We are limiting the employee raises to two percent for the second year of the biennium," Anderson said. "And we will also be looking for additional salary savings throughout the department."
Employees would have averaged three percent raises. Anderson says positions currently unfilled will be left that way, but no one has been laid off. However, she says some expansions of programs have been delayed. One concerns the eligibility for the child care assistance program. Anderson says before 2013, families earning up to 50 percent of the state’s median income could qualify for child care assistance. Then in 2013, that eligibility was raised to 85 percent.
"With the allotment, we will be adjusting the highest level of eligibility to 60 percent of state median income," Anderson said.
The 2015 Legislature authorized $1.33 billion in general fund spending for the agency. The allocation cuts that to $1.28 billion.
"It's difficult to make a reduction of $54 million," Anderson said. "It's going to touch the lives of people."
The president of North Dakota United – a group that represents public employees – says he was overall happy with how state agencies are handling the 4.05 percent budget cuts ordered by Governor Dalrymple.
"Agency heads took a long, careful look at their budgets, and decided to make the cuts where we urged them to make it," said Nick Archuleta. "Transportation, postponing certain projects, as well as leaving some vacant positions vacant, rather than a full scale back of employee raises."
Archuleta says he knows some agencies did scale those raises back – but he says workers will see some increases in their salaries. He says he’s also happy that layoffs have been avoided, so far.
"One of our biggest concerns is in terms of hiring public employees," said Archuleta. "It's a very difficult proposition as is. What we are desperately hoping to avoid is creating a situation that makes those public jobs less desirable to people looking for work."
Archuleta says some talented people may look at private sector jobs rather than state government, if there is a looming threat of layoffs.
Sharp says in April, agencies will receive their instructions on submitting their budget requests to the Governor, to be included in the biennial budget for 2017-2019.
Both the Legislative branch and the Judicial branch are reducing their budgets, even though neither are required to do so.
