Cut Waste

September 2008 October 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 April 2009

Together, we did it!

$3.3 billion. That's how much government spending we were able to cut in the 2009 legislative session that concluded last Friday.

$0. That's how much in new state taxes you'll be paying.

Our voices united in an effort to cut wasteful government spending meant we were able to pass a budget in one of the most challenging economic times our state has ever seen without raising taxes. In fact, during the legislative session we fought back several tax increase proposals!

Some highlights of cuts to the budget include:

Nearly $1.5 million in savings by selling a rarely used Department of Transportation plane.
$300,000 saved by printing fewer drivers license manuals and instead utilizing the online version
Over $75,000 saved by reducing funds to build an artificial reef
$60,000 saved by reducing funds for an Administrative Services marketing survey
...and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been saved by reducing funds for the purchase of new state vehicles.

Just as importantly, we were able to preserve important funding priorities without raising taxes in the balanced budget that passed:

We avoided teach furloughs and restored $29 million in school nurse funding
The $140 million deficit faced by Medicaid in fiscal year 2010 has been covered.
Georgia homeowners were protected by extension of the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant.
$23 million in new trauma care funding has been budgeted.
Restored 9 months of funding for each of the Moultrie, Columbus, and Summerville crime labs.
Importantly, our state's rainy day fund has been preserved and over $1 billion in federal stimulus budget stablization funds have been saved for use in the 2010 amended and 2011 budgets.

Thank you for your support of the Cut Waste initiative. The success of this effort is largely due to the calls, letters, and emails to legislators in support of simple principles I laid out in January: cut wasteful government spending, hold the line on taxes, and balance the budget. Together, we did it.

7 Comments:

You didn't get anything done on transportation funding, so as far as I'm concerned, this session was a waste.

By Anonymous, at April 7, 2009 9:58 AM

You say you cut 3.3 billion. That means you over spent prior to this year.
$ 0 dollar increase in state taxes is a play on words. It was actually a tax shift to the local level. I live in Georgia and my local taxes will increase that means its a tax increase.

By Anonymous, at April 7, 2009 11:05 AM

Keep up the good work Lt. Governor
Cagle. With the massive spending that the Federal Government has just approved all of us will end up paying more for our everyday living as the Feds waste more and more of our money on both frivolous projects and on "bonuses"
for themselves with our tax dollars.

By Anonymous, at April 7, 2009 8:04 PM

Dear Lieutenant Governor:
I'm all for saving and cutting where necessary -- but in this economy people need their jobs and paychecks to pay their bills -- I seem to remember that Governor Perdue said that he would take the stimulus package money that Georgia received and make sure the state workers wouldn't have to take any more furlough days -- what happened to that idea? However, I do wish to say that I had rather take a furlough day each month than be completely without a job -- I thank God or my job and my prayer is that we all get to keep them.

Thank you for listening to me get some things off my mind.

God bless

By Anonymous, at April 8, 2009 6:15 AM

Thanks for the hard work. I'm amazed that we can save $300,000 by printing fewer drivers' license manuals! I bet there are many other geovernment agencies that could save big bucks by delivering more information online. Let's keep looking at the waste and making cuts there. Thanks also for doing everything you can to keep funding for education. Don't forget the importance of adult literacy/education and the importance of work readiness education in these tough times! Keep up the good work. My prayers are with you!

By Sharon Clark, at April 8, 2009 7:56 AM

How much money does Ga. government spend on Marijuana Prohibition [war]? Save that money and collect taxes on it instead. Humans waging war against a plant is hilarious. Cutting out government waste is an excellent idea.

By Anonymous, at April 8, 2009 8:59 PM

What was that about "new" funding for trauma care centers? That's not the way I heard it. There is a desperate need for more money, not the same. Every taxpayer is a potential user of trauma care and should be more than willing to part with a bit of tax money to provide it. What is it with Georgia?

By Anonymous, at April 9, 2009 8:46 AM