In their words…

There was heartfelt debate in JFAC before the vote on statewide personnel cuts. Here’s a sampling:

“I’m feeling very, very guilty costing the taxpayers of Idaho $30,000 a day to stay here and be stubborn.” - Rep. Maxine Bell
“Our issue all along as a committee was that a 5 percent personnel cost reduction for some agencies would be too difficult for them to handle, particularly corrections, state police, etc. … that they could not furlough enough days in order to meet that necessary 5 percent.” - Sen. Dean Cameron
“I think there’s a point where you become too cautious and you add to the problem. If we go with the 5 percent now and we ask the agencies to hold it back, we’re going to add to the unemployment problem we have now. … To me it makes more sense to err on the side of what’s best for our state employees as a whole.” - Sen. Joyce Broadsword
“We’ve heard some talk about what our caucuses want. Obviously I have a great loyalty to my caucus, but I’m elected by my district, and my district expects me to hold up my responsibilities.” - Sen. Shawn Keough
“My comments are my own, they don’t reflect any caucus or anyone who works in a different building. My comments are based on many years of budgeting.” - Rep. Frank Henderson
“Are they any worse off if we cut them down the road than if we do it now? I don’t think so. But I’m going to keep as many people working as I can.” - Sen. Jim Hammond