Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has directed state agencies to restrict hiring and limit consulting contracts because of a ballooning budget shortfall.
“I expect that you will only request approval for those positions that are absolutely essential, and you will need to certify this is the case,” Kaine chief of staff Wayne Turnage said in a Feb. 4 memo to the state’s Cabinet secretaries.
The directive does not apply to jobs in public safety, health and higher education.
Kaine ordered spending cuts late last year to contend with a $641 million shortfall in the current state budget, which ends in June.
Administration officials are revising their revenue forecasts to adjust for the broadening slowdown in the national economy, Turnage said, and that likely will mean slashing money from the already-reduced budget Kaine proposed in December.
“Although the magnitude of the downward adjustment will not be known until the revised forecast is presented to the General Assembly in mid-February, it is clear that the revenue correction will necessitate immediate actions on the part of state agencies to further reduce spending,” Turnage’s memo read.
Allen Laynan, president of the Virginia Public Service Workers Union, said state workers have not felt the squeeze from the budget shortage yet, but they are worried about what might be on the way.
“It’s starting to get a little bit scary,” he said. “We’ve been doing the jobs of two or three people for years now. Of course, we’re kind of anxious to see what happens.”
Laynan said he is also dismayed by a Kaine proposal to delay workers’ annual raises from December 2008 to September 2009.
Del. Jeff Frederick, R-Woodbridge, who sits on the House Finance Committee, and Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, an Appropriations Committee member, told The Examiner last week they were told the downturn would cut revenues by $200 million to $250 million, though those figures remain unofficial. It also could bring a combined $800 million to $1 billion shortfall over the next two years, Hamilton said.
