- Posted
- July 09, 2010
Ohio Budget Commission begins looking into state deficit
In its second meeting, the State Management and Planning Commission heard from Strickland Administration officials that the state’s economy is in “recovery mode,” an assertion that was met with skepticism by the Republican legislators sitting on the six-member bi-partisan panel organized to look for solutions to a state budget deficit that is projected to be as large as $8 billion by 2012-13 (Source: “Official: Ohio in 'recovery mode',” Columbus Dispatch, July 8, 2010).
State Budget Director J. Pari Sabety told the panel during her presentation, titled “Ohio's Budget: Steady Fiscal Control in Turbulent Times," (pdf, 18 pages) that the state’s employment picture is stabilizing and the 2010 budget ended with a $139 million balance.
Before Sabety spoke, the commission heard from an official with the National Conference of State Legislatures, who said that other states are facing even worse budget deficits than Ohio. Compared to other states, some of which have projected budget gaps as large as 45 percent of their current budgets, Ohio is expected to have a gap of about 16 percent of its 50.5 billion budget, according to Todd Haggerty of the NCSL. However, a presentation from the Council of State Governments concluded that the state's overall economic and competitiveness performance is "sub-par."
The commission is scheduled to meet again July 20. Between now and mid-August, Rep. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, co-chairman of the committee, said that the panel is soliciting any group or individual to submit reports and recommendations that could be used to deal with the next budget.
State Budget Director J. Pari Sabety told the panel during her presentation, titled “Ohio's Budget: Steady Fiscal Control in Turbulent Times," (pdf, 18 pages) that the state’s employment picture is stabilizing and the 2010 budget ended with a $139 million balance.
Before Sabety spoke, the commission heard from an official with the National Conference of State Legislatures, who said that other states are facing even worse budget deficits than Ohio. Compared to other states, some of which have projected budget gaps as large as 45 percent of their current budgets, Ohio is expected to have a gap of about 16 percent of its 50.5 billion budget, according to Todd Haggerty of the NCSL. However, a presentation from the Council of State Governments concluded that the state's overall economic and competitiveness performance is "sub-par."
The commission is scheduled to meet again July 20. Between now and mid-August, Rep. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, co-chairman of the committee, said that the panel is soliciting any group or individual to submit reports and recommendations that could be used to deal with the next budget.
