Budget nightmares

By D. G. Martin
Posted Monday, May 21, 2007

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Chapel Hill, NC - Until this year, it had been almost 10 years since I have watched the North Carolina General Assembly put together its budget.

Back then, I had to watch very, very carefully because I was the legislative liaison for the UNC-System, which is an important part of the state’s budget (about $2.5 billion).

I had to be on my guard because there were always smart people looking for state money to support their programs. Often they would suggest ways the University could “save” money and then suggest that the “saved” money be used to fund their favorite programs.

One of the most popular ways to “save” money at the University came up almost every year. The suggestion was to eliminate vacant positions in the University. Any job that had not been filled for a particular time period would disappear. The result was a permanent cut in the University’s budget. When the “eliminate vacant positions” suggestions were accepted, I always had to accept a share of responsibility for these unfavorable results.

There were many other ways to raid the University’s budget, but the “eliminate vacant positions” tactic is the one I still have nightmares about.

Last week, the state’s House of Representatives passed its version of the state’s budget, which provides for the raising and spending of more that $20 billion a year, and I got to watch.

A small group of House members had been working on the budget bill for weeks, but most members got their first look at a proposed complete package last week. First, the bill had to be reviewed and approved by the House Finance Committee, which has responsibility for overseeing the portions of the bill that deal with taxes. The next day the House Appropriations Committee reviewed the spending plans.

These are not small committees. Almost every member of the House serves on either Finance or Appropriations, so the largest committee room in the Legislative Office Building was full last week. The room was full of observers, too. Lobbyists and representatives of state agencies were there to protect their appropriations if they could, to try to plot to have funds added to their appropriation, or to watch in horror as their money disappeared.

The committee process is a slow one. Members are allowed to propose amendments to the spending or taxing plans. But certain rules make the process complicated and tiresome.

One observer told me, “This is like watching paint dry.”

On the other hand, a long-time lobbyist told me, “It’s like a low scoring baseball game. If you don’t know and love the game, you miss all the secret signals and strategy. You don’t appreciate what the managers and coaches are doing when they signal a bunt or change a pitcher. There is lots of stuff going on in here that most people don’t see. I have fun trying to watch the plotting that is going on in this room.”

At the end of the second day of committee hearings, the Appropriations Committee was nearing the end of its review of the Budget Bill. There had not been much excitement as the group had dealt with a series of proposed amendments, only a few of which had any big impact.

Most observers were still “watching the paint dry.” They were bored. Some were drifting away.

But the old-timers hung around. They knew that the “home runs” in the budgets games often come at the end.

Former House Speaker Dan Blue rose to propose an amendment. He explained that he thought that the proposed salary increase for state workers (2½%) was not nearly enough and should be raised significantly. He said he had found a painless source of funds that could pay for an additional increase. If the state just eliminates all state jobs that have been vacant for more than six months, the savings will pay for the increase.

Blue’s amendment passed and became a part of the bill passed by the House. He hit a home run for the state workers. But he forced every state agency that has unfilled jobs to deal with a possible big budget cut.

And, for me, he resurrected the “eliminate vacant positions” nightmare from my past.

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D.G. Martin is the host of UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch, which airs Sundays at 5:00 p.m. Check his blog and view prior programs at www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch/

Next week’s (May 27) guest will be Charles Frazier, author of “Thirteen Moons.”