Jan 2, 2009 5:45 pm US/Eastern
Second Furlough Day For Maryland Employees
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
State employees are off work for the second furlough day imposed by Governor Martin O'Malley to help reduce government spending.
Political reporter Pat Warren reports Marylanders can expect even more cutbacks and soon.
State workers knew in December that the furlough day was coming along with the day after Christmas and other days off with no pay. For some, there are as many as five days.
"Well, it's necessary. We're putting our share in, that's it. It's a bad time. Everybody just has to suck it up," said a state worker.
"This isn't the first time this happened. During the Schaefer administration, we had furlough days, so you know we do what we have to do," said Marcel Walker.
More budget cuts are expected next week when the state Board of Public Works meets to address the decline in revenue estimates announced last month.
"We have to find $400 million in cuts in the course of this budget, so that gives you a sense of the magnitude. The furloughs are an important part of what we're trying to do to balance the current year budget, but it does not do everything that we need to do," said O'Malley.
Maryland is among 21 states that has seen a decline in sales tax. Fourteen states have seen declines in income tax, and 27 in corporate income tax.
Local governments are already looking for ways to save money in anticipation of less funding from the state.
"We've already been looking everywhere we can. I mean Howard County, we closed our print shop. We closed our cable TV studio. We're holding positions vacant. We've taken away 70 percent of the take-home cars that people had. We were looking under every cushion to find any savings that we can," said Howard County executive Ken Ulman.
And while cuts are still being made to this year's budget, the General Assembly's Spending Affordability Committee is recommending the lowest increase in the next year's state budget in 25 years.
"The lowest we've ever gone is 2.5 percent. That was two other times. Going to 0.7 is astonishing," said Senate President Mike Miller.
Governor O'Malley's new fiscal year budget is due Jan. 21 while the state still struggles to get this one under control.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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