Everett, Wash. Published: Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tightening economy calls for tighter budget
When the economy slows -- or moves backward, as in a recession -- employers tighten their belts. Given that payroll is most employers' biggest expense, pay raises become a prime target for savings.
For Washington's public school teachers, that happened five years ago. Democratic Gov. Gary Locke, working with the Senate's chief budget writer, Republican Sen. Dino Rossi, didn't fund teacher raises mandated by voters in Initiative 732. The rationale -- that I-732 didn't include a funding stream to pay for those raises -- was reasonable in the context of plugging a huge budget gap.
This year, the state's largest teachers' union has been lobbying hard to have those raises restored -- in addition to the current cost-of-living raise, which is being funded at a cost of $43 million.
But the budget surplus that made such an idea palatable to some lawmakers is shrinking. Fast. Of the three supplemental budgets proposed, only the House's includes even a partial restoration, which would cost $39 million. The Senate's and Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposals don't include make-up raises at all.
With due respect to teachers, and they deserve plenty, the latter two proposals have it right. Lower state revenue projections and higher costs in unavoidable areas have combined to erase more than $500 million from state coffers. The next budget, if all things stay the same, shows a projected shortfall of $2.4 billion. Like any employer, this is a time for the state to be more frugal, not to go back to "correct" past budget cuts.
Plenty of private-sector employees went without raises in the downturn that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They're not going to get to turn back the clock; public employees shouldn't be treated differently.
The House and Senate budgets each hold around $750 million in reserve. It would be wise in coming negotiations for Gregoire to hold out for $1 billion, which would mean fewer painful cuts next year. Big new spending proposals, like one that would give child-care center owners and workers collective bargaining rights, potentially costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars, should be avoided.
