Otter orders 4 percent holdbacks

Gov. Butch Otter has announced plans for a “tiered” holdback, cutting the state’s budget back mid-year by 4 percent, but with varying amounts for each agency. “The message I want to leave with you today is that we’ve been here before and we can do this again … I am still optimistic about the future,” Otter said. He said his holdbacks are “in the spirit of hoping for the best and planning for the worst.” Public schools would be protected from the holdbacks by a transfer of $49.3 million from the public education stabilization fund.