Hammon: ‘We still have tools’

Wayne Hammon, Gov. Butch Otter’s budget director, said today’s gloomy state revenue news doesn’t necessarily mean more pain for already struggling state employees, who already are being hit with 5 percent cuts in personnel funding this year. That’s coming out in furloughs, layoffs and more. “We have tools available to us other than just the state employees,” Hammon said. “We are looking under every rock.” He added, “This is not unexpected. … Last year, when we knew things were starting to get bad, there were a lot of people who clamored that we had to spend more of the rainy-day, spend more of the rainy-day. So far we’ve spent 30 percent of the total rainy-day funds, the four funds. So going forward, we still have tools available to us.”

Idaho’s four “rainy-day” funds are its budget stabilization fund; a public education stabilization fund; an economic recovery reserve fund; and the portion of the tobacco-settlement Millenium Fund that’s not set aside in an endowment. The governor doesn’t have authority to spend rainy-day funds on his own; he’d need legislative concurrence. He does, however, have authority to impose mid-year budget cuts, though lawmakers would then have to decide whether to make those permanent. “He wants to counsel with all of them, get their perception of what needs to be done before he makes any decision,” Hammon said.