Wed., April 8, 2009

‘Most of the loaf’

Wayne Hammon, budget chief for Gov. Butch Otter, talks to reporters outside the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, after the joint committee voted to cancel a proposed 3 percent across-the-board pay cut for state employees, and instead leave a statewide 3 percent cut in personnel funding up to agency directors. Previously, the statewide cut was to total 5 percent, including the pay cut; lawmakers opted to make up the difference from federal stimulus funds. (Betsy Russell / The Spokesman-Review)

Here's what the governor's budget chief, Wayne Hammon, had to say about JFAC's vote this morning on statewide personnel cuts: "The flexibility part, section 1, is very, very good. The governor's very pleased with that. He's been saying from the the very beginning that he needed flexibility. The question is on the stimulus part - the governor would have preferred to use rainy-day money ... because that is Idaho money that had been saved specifically for this type of thing. ... I'm going to have to go talk to the governor about stimulus." Nevertheless, Hammon said, "When you get most of the loaf, that's a compromise." He added that the reason the governor was willing to move the statewide personnel cuts down from 5 percent to 3 percent was "because the chairman told him that was the only way to get the flexibility. His goal has been from the very beginning not to tie the hands of agency directors."

Posted April 8, 2009, 12:30 p.m.