Mead hopeful Wyoming will avoid more cuts 

CHEYENNE (AP & Staff Reports) — Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead says he’s hopeful that state lawmakers won’t have to make more substantial cuts to state spending when they convene early next year.

Declining revenues forced Mead to cut $250 million from the state’s two-year, $3 billion general fund budget that started in July. Updated revenue projections are due later this month and Mead told The Associated Press he doesn’t expect to see them change much from this summer’s projections.

“It may go up or down some, but I don’t think we’re going to see a huge drop off,” Mead said Tuesday. “I certainly don’t think we’re going to see a huge increase. Which would mean that the cuts that I had to make I think hopefully will prove to be just about right as we head into the session, at which time we’ll see if additional cuts are needed or not.”

State Rep. Mike Greear, R – Worland, disagrees stating Friday, “As a member of the JAC (Joint Appropriations Committee), I don’t believe that that’s the case. I’m looking at revenue projections and expenditures and I think that there will still be more cuts to be done in the supplemental budget this year.”

If the Legislature determines that more budget cuts are required, Mead said the results will be painful throughout state government.

“We’re on the edge now,” Mead said. “I don’t know of hardly any place you could cut without causing layoffs, and we’re already going to see reduction in services and every cut beyond that is additional reduction in services. So these are difficult cuts that have been made. Each future cut would be all the more difficult.”

More budget cuts will be felt throughout the state. “We will have to eliminate, additional cuts mean that there will be programs or more programs eliminated and there will probably be positions that will be eliminated within state government,” Greear stated. “In my mind, I have an obligation to make sure that we have a balanced budget and that means that our expenditures need to match what our revenues are,” he added.

State fiscal analysts responsible for drafting the revenue forecast set for release this month said Wednesday they’re not ready to discuss their report.

Wyoming relies heavily on energy production for revenue. Coal production in the state is down sharply so far this year compared to last year. Several large coal companies have sought bankruptcy protection recently and Wyoming has seen sizeable layoffs among miners working in the Powder River Basin.

Figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that Wyoming coal production through late September was 206 million tons compared to 277 million tons for the same period last year, showing a decline this year of 25.8 percent.

Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, said he expects coal production will increase slightly in the second half of this year.

Deti said coal production is being helped by factors such as rising natural gas prices, a decline in coal stockpiles at utilities and other factors. “We’re down, but we’re not out and I think we’re going to see a little bit of an increase in production here in the second half of the year,” he said Wednesday.

Sen. Tony Ross, R-Cheyenne, is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He said Wednesday he believes the Legislature may have to impose more budget cuts.

Ross, who’s leaving the Legislature at the end of this year, said the state still faces an anticipated general fund shortfall of about $250 million for the current two-year funding period.

The state also faces shortfall in its School Foundation Program, which covers construction and maintenance. The state in recent years has used federal coal lease bonus money to pay for billions of dollars in school construction.

Wyoming still has roughly $1.5 billion in its so-called rainy day fund, but Ross said many lawmakers don’t want to spend more from the fund after dipping into it for about $300 million already in the budget session earlier this year.

“The goal of the JAC and the goal, I think that was stated by the Legislature was to try to have the rainy day account last for a 10-year downturn and I personally hope that this downturn doesn’t last that long. I hope its brief but we do need to prepare for a longer downturn,” Greear said.