Linn County legislators discuss budget targets

CEDAR RAPIDS – Linn County legislators are defending steps they've taken to deal with declining revenues, including setting lower budget targets for the coming year.

However, some lawmakers are warning against cutting the state budget so deeply they “kill the recovery,” as Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, put it.

“We're hearing from everyone we are overspending, so we have to cut, right?” Hogg said. “But when the economy goes down, does the demand of government services go down? No. The demand for government services goes up.

“The concern I have is that if we get too carried away at all levels of government with cutting, cutting, cutting, cutting, all of the sudden you've taken a tough economy and made it worse,” Hogg said.

Budget targets released last week by majority Democrats call for reducing spending by about $261 million from current levels.

“These are some pretty low numbers,” said Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. However, he said, lawmakers are likely to approve a $64 million supplemental appropriation to partially backfill some of Gov. Chet Culver's 10 percent across-the-board cuts.

Also, Dvorsky said, the Legislature is likely to draw at least $200 million from reserve funds to balance the budget.

Sen. Wally Horn, D-Cedar Rapids, would like to see about $100 million of that go to higher education.

“I'm very disappointed in the fact that Iowa doesn't seem to think it can afford to support education,” said Horn, a member of the Education Appropriations subcommittee that will draft a budget for community colleges and regents universities. He opposes the $844 million budget target – about $11.5 million less than the current budget.

He said he will support the budget “because I do want to fund education,” Horn said. “But I do want to protest and I think we need more money for education.”

Lawmakers said they are making the best of a bad situation, given declining revenue. A massive state government reorganization bill that has not yet received final approval will save about $70 million in the general fund next year and more in subsequent years. An early retirement plan, which lawmakers hope will result in about 1,000 state employees leaving their jobs, will save another $30 million in the general fund.

In response to questions:

Horn and Dvorsky said they support the concept of medical marijuana and think the Legislature should look at some model legislation for regulating its use.

Rep. Kirsten Running-Marquardt, D-Cedar Rapids, said that at a time when they are cutting the state budget, lawmakers should take a look at a proposal to legalize sports betting as a “revenue-generating resource.”