Overview of Gov. Granholm's proposed budget
LANSING -- That fiscal year starts in October, but lawmakers are already getting word of the proposed spending cuts and new revenue projections. The numbers must cover Michigan's projected 1.5 (B) billion dollar budget shortfall. To do it, the governor wants spending cuts, and new revenues.
The budget includes 670 million dollars in spending reductions, more than 200 million dollars in new revenues, and 500 million dollars in federal funding for medicaid. One of the biggest cuts include 120 million dollars from the Department of Corrections and millions more to education. Here's a look at some of the education cuts (as proposed):
The governor recommends 164 million in cuts to the K-12 system... A reduction per pupil of $59 dollars per student... A 20% reduction to ISD operations... 100 million in cuts to higher education... Including 3% to university operations... Community college funding is not effected...
State employees will also be a target. They received no raise in the current budget year and started paying more for their health care. They are set to get a 1% raise this fall. Even so, the proposal also asks for 28 million dollars in concessions from state employees with 1500 state government job cuts likely.
Republican State Rep. Darwin Booher from Evart is concerned about a proposal to raise fees at state parks. And Republican State Senator Michelle McManus from Lake Leelanau shared her concerns about the proposal to combine cooperative ag extension offices and the agriculture experiment station.
