Budget information given to committee
The House Management Committee met on May 11 to discuss a budget shortfall for the next fiscal year (see below for a list of members). House Clerk Don Richardson and a staff employee briefed the committee on the House's budget problems. This correspondent was the only person in attendance who was not a member of the Legislature despite media reports on the meeting.
Mr. Richardson didn't mince any words and took the bull by the horns: The worst-case scenario for the House's operating budget projected a shortfall of $500,000. Unfortunately, the actual shortfall was going to be $700,000 if no action was taken. Mr. Richardson also stated special sessions were "eating us alive".
He said there were three actual budgets:
1. Members' expenses while in session. These are set by law and can not be adjusted short of changing the law.
2. Monthly expenses. Set by law and can not be changed by the House leadership.
3. The Contingency fund: everything else. He called this the House's operating budget.
Mr. Richardson stated there were no actual programs to cut. Any cuts would have to be found by either laying off employees or reducing expenses not mandated by statute. He said there was enough money to make it through the end of the current fiscal year in June, and through January, 2011 if no action was taken. He stated the budget was currently "$25,000 in the black". Mr. Richardson and Speaker McCoy made it very clear they wanted to address the projected deficit in the meeting and not "kick the can down the road". All members agreed with the need to address the problem immediately. The mood was summed up by Speaker McCoy: "We've got a chore to do. The budget is what it is."
Several options were examined by the committee. The issue of member voucher days was raised. Legislators are allotted a maximum number of paid days to visit Jackson on behalf of their constituents. Concerns were raised about problems their constituents had with state agencies and how they were able to assist in such matters. Speaker McCoy made it quite clear voucher days were very important and should only be cut as a last resort. It was pointed out reducing such expense only saved $200,000.
Mr. Richardson gave them the following options:
1. Cut expenses
2. Cut staff
3. Cut travel expenses.
The committee avoided cutting staff members, as it was pointed out the level of employment was already at a bare minimum. Mr. Richardson said $200,000 could be saved if the House stopped reimbursing members and employees for in-state travel. He estimated another $200,000 could be saved by a similar ban on all out of state travel expense reimbursements. The cut in staff travel would save $75,000 as well. Representatives Percy Watson and J.P. Compretta both said the House should cut reimbursement for all travel expenses.
However, two members took very strong exceptions to the proposed ban on out of state travel reimbursements. Representatives Willie Perkins and Omaria Scott both heatedly objected to such cuts. Both members were quite animated as they argued as members of national associations, the state should reimburse them for traveling to meetings held by those organizations.
Ms. Scott called it an issue of "fairness" and was quite vigorous in her objections. When the issue of the Medicaid bailout before Congress was mentioned, Speaker McCoy stated it was being debated and they could not count on its being passed in a timely manner. Ms. Scott said the federal government should not help all of the states. She said "they are calling us fascists, socialists, communists. I wouldn't give these states anything either if they had called me all that."
Mr. Perkins then said he was "concerned with the suspension of out of state travel" and that he wanted the state to pay for him to travel to national board meetings. He point blank told the committee "if there is an across the board suspension of (reimbursement for) out of state travel, ya losing me." Ms. Scott chimed in and argued again the state should pay for out of state travel to national associations.
Mr. Watson tried to mediate and said the cuts were not permanent but they "needed to get travel in-line to save discretionary days." The Speaker then said he wanted to deal with it now. Mr. Watson followed his lead and moved for a vote on suspending reimbursement for travel expenses for members and employees. Mr. Perkins objected and moved for a separate vote on the banning of reimbursement on out of state travel expenses. He further stated "I want the minutes to show I objected." Only two other members voted with Perkins in his opposition, Scott and Coleman. The motions passed and the committee banned said travel by members and employees.
Members: J. P. Compretta, Chairman Members: Richard Bennett; Credell Calhoun; Linda F. Coleman; Rita Martinson; William J. McCoy; Willie J. Perkins, Sr.; Thomas U. Reynolds; Margaret Rogers; Ray Rogers; Omeria Scott; Percy W. Watson
Monday, May 24, 2010
House faces $700,000 shortfall, Perkins & Scott want state to pay for their out of state trips
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25 comments:
Is there a typo in sentence?
Only two other members voted with Coleman in his opposition, Scott and Coleman.
Should it be Perkins, Scott and Coleman?
Great reporting KF.
"Ms. Scott said the federal government should not help all of the states. She said "they are calling us fascists, socialists, communists. I wouldn't give these states anything either if they had called me all that."
In other words. Let's hold taxpayer money hostage from those who don't agree with us. Let's use the forced confiscation of those dollars against the very people who pay it. What an idiot!
Corrected.Thanks.
I vote for cutting ALL of the above. Give each Rep ONE staff member. Pay for ZERO travel, anywhere, at any time.
Travel expenses for "conventions" are a tremendous expense on taxpayers at all levels of government. You can't go to any city council or board of supervisors meeting anywhere in the state without some public employee requesting and receiving approval to travel to some type of training or conference at a casino hotel. It's often stated that these are "mandatory."
As much money as these legislators make nowadays, they shouldn't be reimbursed for ANYTHING. Coming out of pocket for your gas and hotels (& hookers and booze) should be part of serving your state. Hopefully it would help cut down on 'career' politicians and create an environment that would get things done instead of sitting on hands waiting on a paycheck for nothing.
My grandfather had to work 2 other jobs to feed his family when he served in this great state's house, and he wouldn't have had it any other way. He viewed it as SERVING his state, when making it a better place to live was the top priority.
Paul Mitchell: You suggested giving each legislator ONE staff member?? Only about 20 or so Representatives have ANY STAFF AT ALL currently, and those are the Reps who are chairmen of major committees. The rest do all of their own work for themselves. If you give each member one staff person, you will be ballooning the budget, not cutting it. Get your facts straight.
Heck 1:10 PM. We've got City Council persons from up and down our state who attend the annual MML (Mississippi Muni League) party down on the Gulf Coast where over the course of 4+ days these local bullshitters meet -- excluding all the mutual admiration cocktail parties and self-congratulatory pat-themselves-on-the-back Gala dinners -- for a grand total of about one day total.
Here is the schedule for this year's ripoff that our tax dollars pay for. (P.S. open the link with Acrobat)
Tell me why the leaders representing so many Mississippi cities are wailing about lean budgets and the 'poor house' yet this taxpayer funded boondoggle is still taking place?
I guess nobody coughed up a SLRP change, eh?
Don't you know Kingfish that, general factoids being the same, had the meeting you attended been about a shortfall of that size for the Senate well then the number of reporters in attendance would have been exponentially larger than your lonely self.
There is no way that liberal piss ant David Hampton is going to send a reporter to cover any problem that makes Billy McCoy and the other members of his ruling junta in the House look bad.
Anon 1:26, you mean to tell me that there are less than 174 people working at the State Capitol? For some reason, I find that incredibly HARD to believe. And you are telling me that most legislators have zero staff? Again, impossible to believe.
Yup. zero. When I call a legislator, its always directly to him or his office he has in the private sector. Except for maybe a few due to leadership positions, they don't have staff.
Over 600 people currently have Capitol parking passes, not including legislators. Curious.
The funny part is McCoy sounded pretty responsible in the meeting.
Sounds to me like somebody(s) has a pretty swank trip planned this summer that ain't gonna get funded. Its all fun and games until its your ox that's getting gored.
Jawbreaker
How very far our local daily and our micro-alternative have fallen when an ambitious local journalist is blowing their reporting asses out of the water.
EXCELLENT work Mr. Kingfish!!!
Anybody giving odds which media outlet will rip KF off first?
doubt it. Wagster-Pettus of AP already mentioned this a couple of weeks ago and the CL had an editorial. They were not there but were working off of press releases or minutes.
Glad to see Credell Calhoun voted for fiscal responsibility.
Except for Scott and Perkins, the rest of the committee acted in a sober and direct manner. Those two were indignant over the mere thought of having to pay for their own trips.
Any update on the info request into SLRP? I would love to put this up against their budget gap. Additionally, they spoke of "legally unable to cut", is this the case for SLRP? If yes, then I guess our discussion is moot.
SLRP is statutory. They can do it but they have to get the Senate to vote on it and Barbour sign it as well.
Keep in mind the state contributions already set aside for SLRP members is probably considered to be the property of said members so at best you are talking about a few hundred thousand a year being diverted.
Hoping it goes on the agenda at the June meeting. Didn't make it in April and May.
Sure hope these two can catch a ride to their summer vacations. Doesn't Trailways Bus still have routes leaving Mississippi.
Hmm...I wonder who paid for the Speaker, Rep George Flaggs and Don Richardson's trip to NYC last week for the Council of State Governments meeting?
It is simply absurd to have elected officials using public funds to attend meetings by choice rather than something they're elected to do.
When I attend meetings, conferences, seminars, etc. I pay my own expenses. I'm national president of a tread association composed of local independent TV programmers and I pay my own expenses.
It's simply absurd so my elected officials abuse their positions.
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