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Gregoire and the budget: 'It is a time to rethink government'

By Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published December 20, 2008

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Gov. Chris Gregoire is framing the new economic crisis facing state government as an opportunity to rethink government rather than simply try to raise more money through unpopular tax increases.

The Democrat, who won re-election last month on a no-new-taxes pledge, defended her overall proposal to cut more than $3 billion from carry-forward spending levels to cover an expected $5.7 billion financial shortfall in the 2009-11 budget.

The governor's plan was criticized Thursday, especially by human-services activists. They say the state's safety net is being slashed at a time the economy is worsening and jobless or under-employed people need more government services.

Gregoire told The Olympian's editorial board Friday that some proposed cuts — such as closing a youth-offender camp at Naselle and shuttering a Yakima facility for the developmentally disabled — were "an opportunity" to do the right thing that might not be politically possible in richer times.

Both facilities are under-used by departments that have too little demand to justify the operations.

"So it is a time to rethink government," Gregoire said.

The governor also said she has asked her Cabinet leaders to look again at how they do business, and she said she wants to look at the state's 400 boards and commissions with an eye toward picking out only boards that are essential.

Here are some nuggets from Gregoire's visit with the board: The governor:

• Has called on communities to step up contributions to social-service agencies and food banks to help the poor deal with the national economic downturn, which she blames for the state's money woes. "This is not a time to expect that government alone is going to solve this issue. This is a time that communities step up. When we have food banks struggling like they are, it is time for us to step up," she said.

• Expects her budget, if adopted, would cut 2,600 more state employees from the payroll, on top of 1,400 job slots left empty by spending cuts she ordered in the summer and fall. She also is talking to state employee groups about alternatives that could keep people on the job with a reduced-hour schedule or by having them take a day or two off without pay each month.