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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Gov. Jack Dalrymple is asking agency directors to include 10 percent spending reductions in their proposed budgets for the next two years.<\/p>\nBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Gov. Jack Dalrymple is asking agency directors to include 10 percent spending reductions in their proposed budgets for the next two years.<\/p>\n
The Republican governor’s directive on Wednesday reflects a downturn in tax revenues due to slumping oil prices and activity. The blueprint is the biggest proposed budget decrease for state agencies since Democratic Gov. George Sinner suggested 10 percent reductions in 1992.<\/p>\n
North Dakota Budget Director Pam Sharp says Dalrymple’s budget plan is “appropriate and is needed” due to less-than-forecast tax collections.<\/p>\n
Dalrymple’s directive marks the beginning of the lengthy job of writing his spending recommendations for the 2017 Legislature. Lawmakers will get Dalrymple’s blueprint in December.<\/p>\n
From Governor Dalrymple’s Office…<\/p>\n
BISMARCK, ND \u2013 Gov. Jack Dalrymple today issued to state government agencies his budget guidelines for the 2017-2019 biennium.\u00a0 Dalrymple directed agency leaders to develop General Fund base budgets equal to 90 percent of their 2015-2017 appropriation for ongoing expenditures as passed by the Legislature.<\/p>\n
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Dalrymple said the North Dakota Department of Human Services (NDDHS) and the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (NDDOCR) will not be strictly held to the 10 percent budget reduction because additional consideration must be given to services that impact public safety and the state\u2019s vulnerable citizens.\u00a0 The Office of Management and Budget will work separately with NDDHS and NDDOCR to identify adequate funding levels, he said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have good reason to be optimistic about North Dakota\u2019s future, but by no means does that free us from our responsibility to address the current revenue challenges head on by developing a sustainable budget plan,\u201d Dalrymple told agency leaders. \u201cWe begin work on the 2017-2019 budget in a much different revenue environment than at this time two years ago. With tax revenues falling short of projections, we must find greater savings and efficiencies while continuing to provide high-quality services for the people of North Dakota.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Governor\u2019s budget guidelines do not impact State School Aid, the funding for North Dakota\u2019s K-12 schools. In addition, the state\u2019s traditional Medicaid program will not be subject to reductions beyond those implemented under the current budget\u2019s allotment process.<\/p>\n
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Many reductions implemented by agencies as part of the current budget\u2019s 4.05 percent allotment will likely be continued into the next budget cycle, but agency leaders are not locked into the decisions they made to meet the allotment, Dalrymple said.<\/p>\n
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Although General Fund budget guidelines don\u2019t apply to special funded agencies, Dalrymple said he expects those agency directors to also perform a thorough review of their operations and submit budget proposals that produce savings.<\/p>\n
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Dalrymple credited the Legislature for developing a sound 2015-2017 budget that took into account the possibility of reductions in oil and farm commodity prices. The state focused the use of its strong cash reserves on one-time capital projects that don\u2019t have to be repeated. The state\u2019s one-time infrastructure investments included highway bypasses that serve Williston, Watford City and Dickinson and a new airport terminal in Minot.\u00a0 The state\u2019s strong cash reserves also funded much-needed water projects, including flood control projects in Minot and Valley City, and allowed the state to catch up on college campus improvements including the STEM classroom and lab building at NDSU and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at UND.<\/p>\n
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\u201cNo one could foresee the extent to which commodity prices would fall after the Legislature adopted the current budget,\u201d Dalrymple said. \u201cBut because of the Legislature\u2019s prudent budgetary planning, and the 4 percent allotment implemented in February, the budget will remain balanced at the end of the current biennium.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In developing the 2017-2019 Executive Budget, Dalrymple said capital projects will not be funded unless absolutely critical.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe slowdown in our economy, particularly in Western North Dakota, presents the opportunity to reevaluate the service levels required in many areas,\u201d Dalrymple said. \u201cWe must continue to demonstrate that we are good stewards of the people\u2019s money and that we will do everything necessary to operate a highly efficient and financially sound state government.\u201d<\/p>\n
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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Gov. Jack Dalrymple is asking agency directors to include 10 percent spending reductions in their proposed budgets for the next two years. The Republican governor’s directive on Wednesday reflects a downturn in tax revenues due to slumping oil prices and activity. The blueprint is the biggest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100056"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100089,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100056\/revisions\/100089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}