DATE: Oct. 19, 2010
GOV. BARBOUR ASKS AGENCIES TO PROVIDE COST-CUTTING PLANS FOR FY 2012
JACKSON – Gov. Haley Barbour today asked agency directors to submit potential cost-cutting ideas for Fiscal Year 2012. Agencies have until Nov. 1 to present plans to the Governor’s Office.
A slow-to-recover economy combined with the loss of hundreds of million in federal stimulus funds will force spending to tighten further in FY 2012, which begins July 1, 2011. The budget year will face a structural shortfall of at least $400 million. Initial estimates project a 10 to 15 percent budget reduction for agencies below FY 2011 levels.
“The global economic slowdown has forced private firms to operate more efficiently during a period of reduced revenue,” Gov. Barbour said. “Government must also evaluate whether we are operating as efficiently and effectively as we could be. In the short term, this will allow us to weather the budgetary storm with minimal reductions in key services. In the long term, taxpayers will benefit from a right-sized government that does more with less.”
Magnolia Tribune
