TNGOP Engages In “Class Warfare” Over Budget

By Kleinheider Posted on May 7, 2008 at 2:39 pm

GOP Communications Czar Bill Hobbs throws a little dust on the Governor for announcing employee layoffs for workaday bureaucrats while leaving his top dog political appointees’ pay raises intact:

“Upper management making out like bandits and getting lavish party facilities while the rank-and-file stand to lose everything.Gov. Bredesen promised voters he’d run Tennessee like a business. We didn’t know he meant Enron,” said Hobbs.

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Tags: Bill Hobbs, Bredesen, Budget, layoffs, Matt Kisber, Republicans, Tennessee, TNGOP  

Budget Breakdown

By Kleinheider Posted on at 12:18 pm

Tom Humphrey breaks down the proposals the Governor outlined in his press conference today at the Capitol:

Gov. Phil Bredesen is proposing elimination of 2,011 state government jobs, roughly 5 percent of the executive branch work force.

He’s hopeful that most of the reductions can occur through voluntary buyouts.

The governor said in a press conference this morning the layoffs will provide about $64 million of the $468 million in cuts needed to trim his original budget plan, outlined earlier this year.

The $468 million figure is the low end of the shortfall projected by the State Funding Board, whose economists said it could grow to as much as $580 million.

Bredesen said his planned cuts would need to be revisited if the most optimistic deficit projection falls through.

He said he has asked higher education to make $55 million in cuts but will let the University of Tennessee and Board of Regents systems decide specifics.

SEE ALSO:
John Rodgers
Andy Sher
WSMV
AP
Cara Kumari
WKRN

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Tags: Budget, government jobs, higher eduication, job cuts, layoffs, Phil Bredesen, press conference, state employee