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Published Friday, May 1, 2009 | 6:05 p.m.
Updated Friday, May 1, 2009 | 6:55 p.m.
Related story
Sun Archives
- To be clear, Gibbons is against tax increase (5-1-09)
- Gibbons to propose more salary cuts, says he’ll veto tax hikes (4-30-09)
- Lawmakers eye county dough (4-30-2009)
- Gibbons to propose more salary cuts, says he'll veto tax hikes (4-30-2009)
- County's taxable sales tumble 19.6 percent in February (4-30-2009)
Sun Coverage
Sun Coverage
The final amount of tax revenue the state will get is set, and it's more bad news: Nevada will have to find another $550 million in cuts or tax increases just to fund Gov. Jim Gibbons' budget, his budget director said Friday.
The state's Economic Forum said state government will have $445 million less than what the governor included in his budget in January.
On top of that, the state will have find $181 million for school districts because of lower-than-expected sales tax, and "over $200 million" to school districts because of down property tax, according to Andrew Clinger, the state's budget director.
In total, that amounts to $900 million less than what was in Gibbons' budget in January.
Clinger said the federal stimulus will offset that number by $350 million.
Clinger said the governor's office will submit budget amendments to meet the hole without raising taxes. He said they had discussed another 5 percent cut to salaries of state workers, teachers and higher education employments, on top of 6 percent cuts he recommended earlier.
The state's Economic Forum, five private business leaders tasked with setting tax revenue for the state, issued dour projections Friday of the state's economy over the next two years.
Members said they don't expect the economy to start rebounding until the summer of 2010.
The members, chosen by the governor and Legislative leaders, said sales tax collections would drop until the 2011 fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2010.
The gaming tax, they determined, would rebound quicker, with an eye toward CityCenter's opening in December.
Yet the news for the budget is grim.
Gov. Jim Gibbons submitted his budget in December based on projections the Economic Forum made in December. Since then the state has been smacked by bad news.
The Forum on Friday downgraded its predictions for nearly all major revenue sources, creating an additional budget hole that the governor and Legislature will have to fill with more cuts or tax increases. The Forum also predicted a $57 million budget gap for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The Forum also projected the increased room tax that the Legislature passed earlier this session. While Gibbons had budgeted that the 3 percent increase would bring in $292 million, the forum predicted it at $219 million, creating a $73 million hole.
Gibbons said Thursday that he would not support a tax increase to deal with the additional budget hole. Instead, he said he would propose more cuts to agencies and additional pay cuts for state workers, teachers and higher education employees on top of the 6 percent pay cut he already recommended.
Legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, have been going over Gibbons' budget and adding back some items, currently totaling about $72 million.
They have said tax increases are necessary to provide for essential services.
Democratic lawmakers have said his 6 percent proposed pay cut for teachers, state workers and university employees is too much. They have recently put the proposed reduction at 3 percent.
Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said the Economic Forum confirmed the state faces a "staggering decline" in revenue.
"I think we stay the course of examining what is essential in Nevada, developing a plan to fund the needs of the state," she said.
Buckley said legislative staff believes the federal stimulus can give $800 million in aid to the state's budget gap, not the $350 million that Clinger suggested.
Still, she said, in addition to cuts, policy reforms and the use of stimulus, more revenue would be needed.
A core group of Republican and Democratic legislators have been meeting in private to come up with a list of which of Gibbons' cuts to restore.
"We've not yet decided how much in new revenue we can raise," he said. She said legislators have been talking with business leaders, who, she said, have agreed that Gibbons' cuts go to far and new taxes are needed.
At first, I was thinking an 11% pay cut for higher ed employees is huge. Then I realized that it only takes away less than my past 2 raises, so I'm simply going back to my 2007 salary. I'm not upset and I'm pretty grateful that we are receiving pay cuts instead of losing some of the younger employees that I enjoy working with. THANK YOU GIBBONS - YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE MY VOTE!
so does this mean that our checks are going to be made of rubber like california...... still waiting for county, state, and legislature to cut thier salaries.... hummmmmm maybe they should try a night or weekend on main street where the tent cities are.. at least get a taste of what everyone is going through. I dont like how they are shielding and protecting thier salaries.
IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH
11% paycut!!! I am all for a salary freeze even though I am still paying back tuition that I had for taking more classes to increase my salary. 6% was bad enough!
Lead on Gov. - Good Job. Don't pay attention to the crying from the public employees that are supposed to work for us, they actually only work for themselves right now. Lead on, at least there is one person in this country that is only willing to spend what they make. All the other politicians wont make the tough decisions, they just want to appease everyone and hand out free money! Lead on Gov, Lead on!
I second tbvegas' comment! Please continue to lead on Gov. Gibbons. Many of us appreciate the fiscal responsibility that you are taking on and GIBBONS WILL ALWAYS HAVE MY VOTE. THANK YOU MR. GIBBONS!
TBVEGAS and ROTTEN APPLE SLICES, because of people like you that many of the best teachers are leaving this state. Who will educate our kids?
morgen, aren't you clever. you are short sighted. it's too bad that you don't get that he is preserving more teachers jobs by doing the pay cut instead of lay offs! sorry, but we aren't going to have a mass exodus of teachers since all of the states around us are laying teachers off. there aren't any jobs. be thankful that gibbons is trying to keep as many people employed as possible.
Gibbons is not the solution - he is the problem.
The economic forecasts are real - all over the country. Yes, teachers will not be relocating to even emptier pockets of economic doom. Nevada must reinvent itself.
As a low-mid level state employee, I was willing to bite the bullet and survive at frozen wages. Gibbons is forcing the legislature into raising taxes whilst he refuses to work with them. He is a very clever politician using the depression (yes, that's where we are folks) like a risen Herbert Hoover. (read some history, people) Instead of leading - and yes that means a healthy tax bite along with job cuts, salary reductions, reduced work weeks - he stands "strong" on vetoing any new taxes. He is really a man's man - ain't he?
The few people that are supporting his "leadership" will soon enjoy paying those few extra tax dollars that are near certain as tomorrow's sunrise. Enough votes are available in the legislative conclaves in Carson City to override his photo-op vetoes.
So, why are you all afraid to tax the mining industry? They pay only .2% tax. Of the $5.5 BILLION profit they made last year in Nevada, they paid $100 million. Seems a lot; it's .2%. Casinos pay nearly 7%. Are you telling me the mining companies that are here now are simply going to pull up stakes? Or that they're going to start firing people? Both are absurd. They're too financially invested to simply pull out in a huff; and even if they did, there are many other companies out there who would happily fill the void, even at a higher tax rate. And you need people to physically go in there and get the stuff. If you fire them, you have fewer people to go in and get stuff. That slows production and profit. So it won't happen. So, again, why do NONE of you ever raise this issue? Are you so conditioned to avoid this sacred cow? Instead, you prefer to pick on the easy prey? You want a revenue source? You have a great one right here, right now. Quit avoiding it for once. No one - no person, no company - should get that much of a tax break while everyone else in this state continues to sink.
Gibbons is as simple as they come. To all his defenders, look who his political and legal fund donors our and you can connect the dots. A Governor should at least listen to compromise instead of being a 2 year old repeating the same thing over and over. If Gibbons is such a great conservative, where are his cuts to illegals and bloated administrations?
Gibbons has the tough job of dealing with reality. I'm glad that he's stepping up and making decisions. GIBBONS WILL ALWAYS HAVE MY VOTE.
If you have a problem with supporting illegals, if you aren't stepping up and calling immigration when you are aware of them, you can't complain.
So all of you people that are for the state workers to carry the load are ok with 20,000 people giving to the state to get thru but not have the others that make up our 1.5 MILLION population not help thru additional taxes for them? Sounds like more people who whised the could work in government but can't for what ever reason and if you are that against government employees why are you still here?
I agree that if you can cut gov spening then we are all for the better but when the services start going away who will be the loudest complainer? Longer waits at DMV, graduation rates drop by 20 or 30%, UMC drops more services or closes? How do you think taking more from gov workers is going to carry the whole state? Not sure of the logic in that one...
Why can he raise his staff's salary up 25% to 40% without approval and knowing the budget was in a BIG shorfall and you are not complaining nevadaappleslices? Is that raise going to go away and then take 11 to 16% of their salary then? Notice he is not saying he will take the cut also. Is there a provision that when things get back to normal the pay cut will come back? No, and you are probably one of the people that think gov workers make too much anyway.
NevadaFive you are 100% correct. Gibons has made it clear that he plans on running again. Using people's fears against them to drum up support for himself, since his ratings are at the bottom, is totally wrong. He is not out for the people of Nevada, he is out to try anyway that he can to bring his ratings back up before the next election. I am a state employee that has no problem giving what is needed to help the state but cutting the salary of 20,000 will not fill the hole for 1.5 million that is there. ANYBODY should be able to see that. Did the Fed gov cut their salaries and use that to give the bailouts? Nope. Used taxpayer money from everyone in the US.
nevadaappleslices=jfnance32. How sad...
Walks around the house wearing a cheerleader sweater with a big "G" on the front. Isn't that special.
I want a sweatshirt that has a big "G" on it too, what a great idea.
Lead On Gov! We already gave at the office, Time for the public employees ones to take one too.
Sounds like some people are immature and will knock anyone that would be in gibbon's shoes. It is a lot easier to complain than make a difference.
"nanceadaappleslices"; Who knew you were a comedian too???
tbvegas; public employees are not your "cash cow". You hired em, you gave em a contract, now BE A BIG BOY and do the right thing. Get a second job and pay the people!
Public spending was essential to creating jobs in the Great Depression. Look at these hundreds of billions now pouring in to everything. This economy will be turning around within months IMO -- found a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth
should they start to print money? Get real.
Month after month, for 15 years, the casino companies have been slashing salaries and eliminating jobs, and at no time did any state workers organizations show any compassion or concern for the private sector of our economy. With thousands of people in the private sector having lost their jobs or had their income slashed by 50 percent or more by the immutable laws of the free market, all it seems we read about are the poor teachers and public employees who MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING BAD HAPPEN. For the most part, the SOMETHING BAD has not happened yet.
TAKE A LOOK AROUND, at our community and economy, and realise how many people have already been devastated, beyond repair. We are so tired of your onesided view of what is maybe going to happen to you, when it has already happened to so many of us.
The CCSD is a criminal operation.
Contacts within this criminally corrupt publicly funded system recently revealed administration support personnel purchasing upon their school issued, taxpayer funded school credit cards, wii video gaming systems for their own children's home entertainment. The spending is being authorized by the support personnel's supervisors i.e. principles, which apparently have no idea, choose not to know or are condoning such purchases.
There are many similar stories regarding how members of the CCSD misappropriate taxpayer's funds to purchases items for their personal home use.
A thorough investigation of CCSD spending must be performed to not only STOP such employee theft but prosecute these criminals within the CCSD's system who continue to steal educational funds from our children!
Those suggesting "shortfall for schools" are being conned by these school district criminals.