Preparing for his last year as CEO of Mississippi and contemplating a run to become CEO of America, Gov. Haley Barbour announced some steep budget cuts for the state Monday, Nov. 15.
“I do not intend to leave my successor financially in the type of budget shape I was in when I came here,” Barbour said.
Barbour has proposed what some say are controversial budget-cutting initiatives that include rolling back Medicaid reimbursements rates and freezing annual pay raises for K-12 teachers.
Barbour proposed an eight percent cut to state agencies next year with the exception of the Department of Corrections and Mississippi Development Authority whose budgets will not change from the current 2011 fiscal year.
His $5.47 billion budget recommendation for fiscal year 2012 is $43 million below this year’s final budget and roughly $250 million below the state’s 2008 budget, its largest cut to date.
Barbour also wants to slash funds for public libraries and public television and eliminate state funding for community college sports, saying local governments and voluntary student fees could make up that $3 million.
Barbour created a heated debate with his recommendations last year, when he proposed that school districts and universities consolidate.
This year, he suggested performance-based funding for higher education and the consolidation of administrative services at all levels.
In this budget, the state would spend $20 million to consolidate back-room operations, including payroll, personnel and human resources, for the state’s four smaller universities, with an eye toward total consolidation for all eight down the road.
Currently, state funding for universities is based on enrollment. Barbour proposed that statistics like graduation rates could factor into the new formula. “We have the ability to track students,” Barbour said. “The outcome for these students should be part of the way we determine funding for our universities and colleges.”
The governor also called for a 7.2 percent cut to the Department of Mental Health, which has created alarm in that arena. Mental Health executive director Ed LeGrand said in a statement that cut would “drastically change” the public mental health system.
Barbour thinks changes should come to this department. “I think we need far fewer beds for institutionalized mental health. I think we need to be moving more quickly toward home and community based care,” the governor said.
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