JACKSON – Gov. Haley Barbour urged the next administration and legislators to curb spending and streamline state services in the current slow economy in his Fiscal Year 2013 Executive Budget Recommendation. The fiscal year begins July 1.
The $5.48 billion budget would spend slightly less on state agencies than the current year budget. Gov. Barbour recommends an average 2.9 percent spending reduction for most agencies. Directors can better manage the reductions if granted lump sum budgeting and freedom from bureaucratic Personnel Board rules.
“Do not expect significant increases in revenue or spending in the coming years,” Gov. Barbour said in his proposed budget. “Mississippi, like other states, continues to feel the crunch from the weak national economy.”
He also urged legislators to resist old habits, such as shortchanging the state’s debt payments and cutting funding for job creation and revenue generating agencies, such as the Mississippi Development Authority and the Department of Revenue.
“The next administration and Legislature should build on these successes and resist falling back into old bad habits,” Barbour said. “Keep taxes on our families and businesses low to encourage investment in our economy. Do not arbitrarily underfund mandatory spending or the budgets of agencies that generate revenue and jobs for our state.”
Gov. Barbour Press Release
12/20/11
