Report: Coal Has Negative Impact on VA Budget

A recent report, The Impact of Coal on the Virginia State Budget released by Downstream Strategies, takes an in-depth look the costs and benefits of the coal industry in the Commonwealth. While coal plays a fairly small role in the overall Virginia economy, it does contribute revenues and provide jobs in the southwestern part of the state, primarily in Wise and Buchanan counties. Coal production in the state peaked in 1990 when it represented about 4.5% of the total U.S. output. Since then Virginia's contribution has declined to 2.2% of national output mostly because of a reduction in underground mining. Destructive mountaintop removal coal mining, which is cheaper and requires fewer employees, has increased 23% since 1990 but has declined some in recent years.

So, what is the impact of the coal industry on Virginia's budget? Downstream Strategies' report concludes:

Overall, when taking all revenues and expenditures into account, we estimate that the total net impact of the coal industry on the Virginia state budget in Fiscal Year 2009 amounted to a net cost to the Commonwealth of $21.9 million.

Of course, this net cost to the Commonwealth's budget does not factor in the lasting impact and damage to the environment and our health caused by mountaintop removal coal mining and of the degradation of air and water quality caused by burning coal to generate electricity.

During this session of the General Assembly lawmakers should eliminate tax and other budgetary provisions that make a shrinking coal industry a drain on state finances and concurrently legislators must move Virginia ahead in renewable wind and solar energy. My hopes are not high - typically in Richmond more effort is spent looking backwards rather than forwards - a view promoted by lobbyists of King Coal and Dominion Resources.

How about pay as we GO?

So Governor Bob McDonnell wants to help pay for transportation in NOVA and Hampton Roads by taking General Fund monies from K-12, from public safety (state troopers are already understaffed; ditto for police/deputies in some localities), and from public health. I guess that reflects his priorities - get a transportation merit badge by any means. Beg, borrow, steal?

Transportation should be paid by the users thereof... including those out-of-staters rambling through the commonwealth on I-95 and I-81. Tolls? Maybe. Raising the gas tax? Seems like a user fee is a fair way to go. Raising license fees for those big trucks that put such demands on our road and bridges? Yeah, they should fully pay their way? And while we are at it, shouldn't electric cars have to pay for the roads, too? Maybe we need to rethink the gas tax and move to a taxation per mile plan- that would certainly face potholes in the political road!

Question is... why is the chicken paying for roads by being the fox in the hen house of K-12, of public safety, and of other core state services?

Something borrowed, something blue

It is widely reported that the Commonwealth's 2010 budget "surplus" has nearly doubled to $404 million. While it is only a "surplus" in the sense that very cautious figures were used in drafting the original budget, the news is nevertheless welcomed. The question now is how to allocate the "found money."

Governor McDonnell had previously promised state employee a 3% year-end "bonus." He and the General Assembly should live up to that commitment... or better yet, make it a permanent pay raise. It has been four years (well before the recession began) since state employees received one and they've taken hits on some benefits. It will go a long way to helping to build morale.

Another priority should be repaying the Virginia Retirement System for money the General Assembly borrowed to help balance the budget. This year alone the state put off $137 million in contributions to VRS. Restoring those contributions will be a giant step toward assuring the stability and long term viability of the system.

Trickle down budget writing

In its infinite wisdom (and as a great illustration of how all sh*t flows downhill), the General Assembly has passed a budget that allows local governments and school boards to require current employees to pay from 1% to 5% of the "employee retirement contribution." This provision in the budget does not affect state employees.

The General Assembly has dramatically underfunded local schools - for example, I just heard on the news that Augusta County Schools will have some $11 million less to operate on next year when compared to this year. To make up the difference, a local school board can start making employees contribute to the Virginia Retirement System. Some 20 years ago most local school boards picked up the so-called "employee share" of the contribution in lieu of a pay raise. It was supposed to be permanent... forever and ever, amen.

I'll break this down in simple terms that even Republican budget writers can understand - you underfund local school divisions, but you thoughtfully give them the power to find new money to help fill the gap you created from somewhere, from anywhere... why not scrape it out of employee wallets. Now, that's what I call trickle down budgeting... it really does all flow downhill.

Schools, VRS, public safety take heavy hits

The first reports about the Virginia General Assembly's budget actions are hitting the media and everything is a bit sketchy. The Senate gave in to the House on a majority of the fee increases so many of the cuts hit bone. Some emerging details:

• K-12 education will see $646 million less over the next two years meaning teacher/staff layoffs, school closings, and larger classes. Apparently the Senate held tough and prevented the even more drastic cuts proposed by the House of Delegates.
• As predicted in an earlier post, judges who retire or die will not be replaced. Full dockets. Backlogs. Irate citizens. Justice delayed. Justice denied.
• Although some of the worst proposals for the Virginia Retirement system were averted, the system takes still another hit. In the past couple of years the state has underfunded the retirement system and now the General Assembly is borrowing $620 million from it. I don't trust them to repay it - do you? What recourse will members have - can we sue the bastards?
• $1 billion was cut from health programs. Only 250 additional adults with mental disabilities will receive community-based services - the waiting list tops 6,000. A human and a public safety disaster.
• Funding for sheriff's offices drops by 6%. Expect slower response times, a reduced presence of resource officers in schools, and fewer crime prevention programs.

But rejoice. The rest areas are reopening even as the potholes grow big enough to gobble up a Prius. Maybe the pedal will stick and it will fly over it!

House budget courts judicial disaster

There are 19 vacant judgeships around the Commonwealth, including one at the Staunton General District Court and the Augusta County General District Court. The vacancy should have been filled during the 2009 session of the General Assembly, but political squabbles ended in a deadlock with no appointment. When a judgeship is vacant, the court has to rely on substitutes that can sometimes mean inconsistencies, delays, and other costs that can't simply be measured in dollars.

Now the budget crisis means that the vacancies will probably continue or even, as if by magic, disappear. Some of Virginia's busiest courts, including a big one in Fairfax and others in Hampton Roads, will take the hit. The House of Delegates proposes to eliminate the vacancies and the need to appoint new judges by simply eliminating the positions. Poof! No vacancy... no political fight... no cost (at least not in the budget). The House proposal goes even further by essentially eliminating any judgeships that become vacant over the next two years. The Senate budget keeps the positions funded.

If the House position prevails, the judicial system will have to shuffle the remaining judges around to provide judges for courts that have a vacancy... correction, lost the entire position. There will be travel expenses and other inefficiencies, and perhaps fewer court days meaning full dockets and justice delayed or even denied. There is simply no way that fewer judges will be able to handle the workload with the same care. The House proposal is a recipe for disaster, especially when you consider that many judges are eligible to retire and some may well do so rather than put up with a untenable workload. Of course, each retirement will leave another position unfunded and additional burdens for those who remain.

Hopefully prudence and common sense will prevail in the budget negotiations, although the more one sees of the House plans, the more one wonders if those are lost commodities around the State Capitol.

Birds in flight... or, fright?

Breaking precedents of governors of both parties, Bob McDonnell has embarked on a new strategy designed to cover his backside from blame for budget cuts. Instead of offering his own budget amendments, McDonnell is recruiting fellow Republicans in the General Assembly to introduce bills and suggest the cuts. His conversations with the flock are behind-the-scenes and keep his chicken scratch off the record of cuts, many of which will prove to be unpopular.

For his part, the governor says it is a "different strategy" and predicts it will be productive. Could be, I suppose... at least for his political purposes. In this environment deep cuts are inevitable and he will eventually get (as required by the Virginia Constitution) a balanced budget. But, McDonnell's fingerprints won't be on the cleaver as it hacks to the bone. Good strategy for him, but it may leave some GOP delegates and senators with uneasy questions to answer. Still I gotta think he's getting Valley legislators to suggests cuts in NOVA or Tidewater and vice versa. And, many of those cuts may hit Democratic districts harder than those with a Republican legislator.

Because all this is behind closed doors, how are we to know what specific spending cuts the governor supports or doesn't? Government operates best in bright sunlight. But, like a fox in the hen house, the governor's strategy is one of stealth carried out in the shadows. When the broken eggs are discovered by Virginians, he'll simply say "why ya lookin' at me?"

Broken Promises?

It appears Governor Tim Kaine will suggest breaking a sacred promise to state employees and propose that the Commonwealth force state employees to pay part of the contribution to the Virginia Retirement System. Currently the state pays the 5% "employee contribution" and has done so since the late 80s (I may need correcting on the date) in lieu of pay increases. At the time, the state and most local governments and school divisions "promised" this was a permanent commitment.

Governor Kaine will propose that the state reduce the employee contribution rate to 3%. Last fall he reduced contributions to VRS by $104 million - he helped balance the budget, but weakened the balance sheet of the retirement system with that move.

If the Governor, Governor-elect, and the General Assembly go along, faith will be broken and state employees even more demoralized than they are currently. Trickle down - local school boards and local governments will follow suit, breaking the promise they also made to employees. Most state employees, teachers, and others in VRS understand why they've gotten no recent raises, and won't in the foreseeable future.... but, they won't understand this broken promise to balance the budget.

Beware unintended consequences

Delegate Lacey Putney (I-19th District) is chair of the House Appropriations Committee. He has a suggestion for the upcoming session of the General Assembly, an intermission of sorts:

The possibility of coming into session, maybe recessing, let the members go back, except the money committees working on the budget, in order to give us time to see what they're going to do in Washington.

Putney's idea was hatched as the Appropriations Committee considers a $77 billion budget amid uncertainties over healthcare reform in Washington, D.C. Depending on if and what kind of bill is passed could have direct impact on the Commonwealth's budget. So a pause for more up-to-date information makes sense from the perspective of Richmond.

But, beware of the unintended consequence of passing an interrupted timeline on the local governments and school boards. Typically, city councils, boards of supervisors, and school boards are deeply immersed in their own budget writing after the first of the year, a process that continues well into spring with required steps including public hearings. School boards are supposed to submit budgets to city councils and boards of supervisors by April 1. Since the General Assembly is developing the state budget during January and February, school boards always find themselves working with estimates of state funding rather than hard numbers that are available only after the House and Senate reconcile a budget at the very end of the session.

Putney's idea would indeed buy time for Richmond budget writers to factor in the ramifications of actions in D.C. But, if the General Assembly recesses for an extended period of time it will place greater uncertainty (above and beyond expected budget cuts) and and time constraints on local budget deliberations. Obviously, there are ways to work around these issues, if the General Assembly decides that a "Putney recess" is in order. Now is the time to think about dealing with possible unintended consequences that could get passed on to local officials. Like an unfunded mandate?

Pickin' Up the Pieces

The morning after. Sound thumpin' for the Dems locally, across Virginia, and in New Jersey. Pundits will offer all sorts of reasons and justifications over the days and weeks ahead. Today I will be gathering yard and field signs. We'll be taking it in for recycling and hope you'll do the same... the cardboard signs, as well as the corrugated plastic and sleeves can all be recycled. That's too much BS to pile in our landfills.

While I'll admit surprise at some of the margins, the outcomes of the races are not much of a surprise in to anyone paying attention over the past weeks. The Valley typically runs 65-70% red and the outcome in the House races confirms this advantage continues. If GOP House candidates hadn't campaigned at all, they'd still have easily won.

A least one local whiner has bemoaned the nomination (actually he used his blog to undermine the ticket since the primary) of Creigh Deeds, believing that Terry McAuliffe would have brought energy to the Democratic ticket... I doubt the outcome would have been much different. From my perch, McAuliffe would have divided Democrats and united Republicans even more... if that is possible. True, the Deeds campaign stumbled and missed opportunities, but the stars were aligned for a Republican win in Virginia in 2009 and only major mistakes by McDonnell and friends could have changed the result. Have you heard the rumor that Terry is hinting at a run in 2013?

Actually, the GOP win in NJ is much more surprising than their wins in Virginia. The Garden State is (was?) deep blue while Virginia, despite last year's win by Obama, is at best reddish purple. Virginia voters are greatly impacted by the blowback from across the Potomac... millions of dollars of ads on health care, climate change, card check and so forth affect NOVA and beyond (we get D.C. stations here in the Valley). The net result was a growing frustration with all things government that was a drag on gubernatorial candidates seen as incumbents or surrogates for incumbents.

Running contrary to the anti-government mood was the passage of the meals tax in Rockingham County. The tax will only affect restaurants outside of town limits and 100% of funds raised support schools. Proponents were able to sell the tax as a way to avoid raising real estate taxes and as a tax that would be paid by others such as travelers along I-81. So, a tax was sold as anti-tax?

Looking ahead, several things come to mind. Virginia's budget will present very real challenges to McDonnell, the General Assembly, and to all Virginians. Hopefully, bipartisan solutions can be found. Just as the Republicans used our wonderful system of checks and balances to block some of Governor Tim Kaine's initiatives, the Democratic Virginia Senate will likely block McDonnell if he tries to shift General Fund dollars from schools to build roads.

Ironically, Governor-elect McDonnell's future is now closely linked to President Obama's. The success of each depends on a recovering economy and job creation. For the good of everyone, we should all hope they are successful in that endeavor.

Down; Up

Virginia Western Community College has become the latest to announce cuts of positions as their budget goes down while enrollment goes up. At VWCC it was two layoffs and 15 retirements that balanced the books... for now. Unless revenues pick up, there could be more layoffs there and at other community colleges in about six months.

The story has been echoed at many other community colleges. Some school have have been able to minimize the impact on the classroom by savings in energy use, conferences, travel, maintenance, etc. Most schools are utilizing more part-time faculty who, because they don't receive benefits, are less expensive on a per student basis. Some full-time faculty are teaching an extra class. Class sizes are up.

Virginia's community colleges do not cap enrollment. Unlike UVA or JMU who can meet some budget constraints by limiting the number of students accepted, our community colleges take everyone. And those numbers are increasing as unemployed Virginians seek new job skills or look to get a great tuition deal on basic courses that will transfer to a four-year college. Community colleges are reporting double digit enrollment increases, with some experiencing jumps of 25-30%.

With expectations that Virginia's budget situation will get worse before it gets better, pressure will increase on community colleges - budgets are likely to go down while enrollments continue to go up. Governor Kaine's last budget, the new governor, and the General Assembly should recognize the importance of community colleges in building a trained and skilled workforce for the state. If at all possible, the Virginia Community College System should be spared additional cuts - the 23 colleges, located on 40 campuses, serving some 262,444 students do too much good work to be slammed again.

Virginia Budget - A Train Wreck About to Happen

In the current issue of The Virginia News Letter, James J. Regimbald Jr. warns that the worst of Virginia's budget woes will occur in the 2010-12 biennium and that "painful changes to state government and policy are forthcoming." That seems to fly in the face of what we're hearing in the national media - the recession is easing, the big financial institutions are doing well, brighter days are ahead.

Regimbald doesn't dispute those rosy forecasts, but he points out that Virginia's reserves are essentially gone, deferred obligations will come due, and (most importantly) federal stimulus funds that helped keep the state, local governments, and public schools afloat will run out. He, like most economists, expects job creation to lag the recovery - unemployment will continue to be paid while tax receipts remain low.

Regimbald concludes in Virginia's State Budget - A Train Wreck About to Happen:

What are our options? First, do everything possible to encourage job creation in Virginia by prioritizing Virginia’s investments in education and improvements to our infrastructure. A healthy economy is the only long-term answer to a healthy public sector. Next, Virginia’s government is going to continue to get smaller and even core programs are going to be reduced further. Finally, determine whether Virginia’s tax structure and rates are adequate to sustain a high quality public education, public safety, health and welfare, and transportation system that Virginians have come to expect. This debate may result in the roll back of tax relief that has been provided over the last decade.

If you look carefully at the words and plans of the gubernatorial candidates, you will find one, Creigh Deeds, willing to honestly discuss the looming train wreck with voters while the other, Bob McDonnell continues playing dodgeball on transportation while engaging in smoke and mirrors budgeting. As the Washington Post points out:

And rather than leveling with Virginians about the cost of his approach, as Mr. Deeds has done, Mr. McDonnell lacks the political spine to say what programs he would attempt to gut, or even reshape, in order to deal with transportation needs.

It all comes down to trust. McDonnell has run a slick campaign to re-image himself. If he wins, which Bob McDonnell will show up? How would he deal with the train wreck? Because of his mixed signals and double talk, Virginia voters don't really know. We know Creigh Deeds. He talks straight. What you see is what you get. We can trust Creigh Deeds. More insights from the WaPo:

[Creigh Deeds'] record in the legislature ably blended the conservative interests of his constituents with an agenda reflecting the prosperous, politically moderate face of modern-day Virginia. He has been a longtime champion of a more enlightened, bipartisan system of drawing voting districts, a stance to which Mr. McDonnell only recently gravitated. He has played a constructive role in economic development by shaping the Governor's Economic Opportunity Fund, which provides incentives for investors in Virginia, and he has stood for responsible environmental policies, including green jobs and alternative energy research. Despite his rural roots, Mr. Deeds has been ideologically flexible....

Counting the Dwindling Corn

Governor Tim Kaine announced a series of steps to meet the 2010 budget shortfall of $1.35 billion. Some savings were found in various efficiencies and reducing spending in state agencies based on those agencies' own recommendations. Many of those will not be immediately felt by the public although over time services will be impacted.

Several of the governor's actions, required by the magnitude of the shortfall, will directly impact families, programs, core services, and state employees. Among them:

• Some 929 state jobs will be eliminated requiring 593 layoffs.
• Higher education will be hit to the tune of 13-15% reductions. For UVA that is about $19 million - which has to hit everything from buildings and grounds to instruction. It will be especially difficult for community colleges which cannot turn students away. Expect bulging classes, the elimination of some classes/programs, more snow-covered parking lots and sidewalks.
• A one-day furlough for most state employees - in short, a four-day Memorial Day weekend, with one day unpaid. The loss of a day's pay will be tough on some families, but not as tough as more layoffs that would occur absent the furlough. A little shared pain seems the better of bad options. Public safety and some other areas will be exempted.
• A reduction of $104 million in payments to the Virginia Retirement System. VRS has a reputation of being well managed, but like every other investor has been hammered by the stock market (which is thankfully rebounding). VRS is a sacred trust to state employees and while the state can't raid the funds directly, this backdoor reduction in funding will weaken the system. The Commonwealth must do, as the governor promises, readjust the contribution rates to assure the long term viability of the system.

Kudos to the governor for not taking the boning knife to K-12 education. Along with public safety, K-12 is the most vital of government services. So far, because of the efforts of Governor Kaine and federal stimulus funds, education has been largely spared. Education is the key to our future, our economy, the very fabric of our society and every effort must be made to protect public schools.

Which brings us to a crucial point - it does make a difference who is in the Executive Mansion setting priorities. Bob McDonnell says he'll pay for roads by shifting over $5 billion from education. That's BILLION. McDonnell promises to raise teacher salaries - but it is a shortsighted smoke and mirrors (shift and shaft) scheme that cuts school services such as nurses, counselors, speech pathologists, and other support personnel.

The more we see and hear of Bob McDonnell, the clearer it becomes that the man will say and promise about anything in his desperation to wield power. Talking out of both sides of his mouth... he's ultra-conservative to one audience and a reasonable moderate to another group in the very same day! A vote for Bob McDonnell is like buying a pig-in-a-poke - you never know who, or what, is the real Bob McDonnell.

Counting Virginia's Corn

The media is filled with the stories about the projected deficits in Virginia's biennial budget. Facing shortfalls of about $3 billion over the two years, Governor Tim Kaine and the General Assembly will need sharp pencils to balance, as required by law, receipts and expenditures. Already hiring has been frozen, state employee raises have be delayed, and a variety of programs cut or delayed.

While we certainly can't blame today's budget woes on Virginia's two-year budgeting process, the current situation highlights the potential hazards of trying to write a budget with a long time horizon. After all, every family I know looks at their finances on a yearly basis. Businesses do so as well. That doesn't mean a family or business is failing to plan long term. It does mean they are balancing (hopefully) the books each year. In doing so they can plan to save or spend for bigger projects over time - that kitchen renovation has been put off until next year!

So, why does the Commonwealth use a biennial budget process? The practice dates back to the days when the General Assembly met every other year. During the 1970s the General Assembly began meeting every year but they kept the two-year budget cycle. So in a long session (even years) the Governor and General Assembly enacts a biennial budget. The next year, during a short session, the Governor and General Assembly amend the budget to reflect changes in projected revenues or expenditure needs during the past year. Huh? They are working on the two-year budget every year... is that right?

If this process seems clumsy and confusing to you, then join the crowd. Along with Delegate Albert Pollard (D-99), Delegate Chris Saxman (R-20) will introduce legislation to move Virginia to an annual budget. They cite greater accountability and transparency as key advantages of an annual budget. For example, when the biennial budget promises state employees a 4% raise it gets spread in some fashion over the two years - it could be 2% in each year or 1/2% in the first and 3 1/2% in the second. Geez, I'd like the 3 1/2% in the first year - with compounding getting the money sooner rather than later would be lots better for me. Perhaps legislators have incentives to give raises based on something else - like their election cycle?

Pollard and Saxman also point to real-time numbers that are now available to budget writers. In the "old days," information on tax receipts and expenditures were often months behind so perhaps a two-year cycle made since. It isn't a valid reason today. Pollard has these and other reasons for changing to an annual budget detailed on his website.

One other reason for changing Virginia's budgeting process may be found in the cycle of electing the Governor. Virginia Governors cannot serve consecutive terms. With the current biennial budget, a Governor enters office with at least one strike against him or her.

To illustrate, Governor Kaine took office in January 2006, too late to propose his own budget. So the new Governor was mostly locked into the budget proposed by his predecessor, in this case, Mark Warner. Warner and Kaine are both Democrats and were probably on the same page on many budget issues. Kaine could offer changes, but the point is that he was to a great extent locked in to the two-year budget (he could also offer amendments at the short session) presented by the previous guy. The next budget cycle the Governor has the luxury of proposing, helping to enact, and carrying out "his" budget. Of course, in late 2009 Governor Kaine will propose a two-year budget that will be enacted after he is out of office and will be carried out by his successor. So, changing to an annual budget may shift power to the Governor - a good thing?

Putting Virginia on an annual budget seems like a good idea to this bird. It is common sense and easier to understand for most citizens. It is more transparent. It is more accountable. It may allow a Governor to better match governing priorities with campaign promises. But don't believe for a minute that it will eliminate all the smoke and mirrors that are typically part of the state budget - like saying they funded a 4% raise for teachers but started it in December (when teachers' contracts start in August) or failing to provide funding for the actual number of teachers employed. Guess that falsely claiming credit or saying one thing while doing another is just part of politics!

Golden Eggs

At a time when the national economy and the state budget are in crisis, the news coming out of James Madison University seems to send a very mixed signal. According to the Daily News-Record, JMU President Lynwood Rose received a pay raise of 16.9% this year. The increase of $66,000 brings his total salary with benefits to $456,287. Not included are are a large home and '08 Lincoln provided by the university or health insurance and retirement benefits provided by the state.

President Rose has done a fine job at JMU. According to officials, over $310,000 of that amount is funded by the JMU Foundation. University and college presidents make, and deserve, competitive salaries. The DNR article has details about college presidents' salaries at public and private schools around the commonwealth.

The problem is the perception. The perception is the problem. The Governor and General Assembly are trying to plug a $2.5 billion hole, that may get deeper, in the state budget. JMU has already cut $5.4 million from its budget. For President Rose to receive such a disproportionate pay hike sends the wrong message to everyone - JMU students and parents; JMU faculty and staff, especially those who may lose jobs; donors to the JMU Foundation; the entire community; and to every taxpayer.

President Rose found a goose that laid golden eggs. Perhaps he should consider not taking all of those eggs - at least for now.

Counting Corn

Lawmakers in Richmond are signaling significant cuts to public education, Medicaid, and other services in efforts to off-set a $2.5 billion shortfall in the state's $77 billion two-year budget. Governor Kaine and some lawmakers want to spare public education, or hold cuts to a minimum, but others like Lacey Putney (I-Bedford) said 50% of the budget cannot be exempted.

School Boards and superintendents will be watching closely as the Governor and General Assembly look at specific numbers and proposals in December. With 75% to 80% of a typical school division budget committed to personnel costs, finding big savings during the current budget year will demand tough decisions. 

In times of a tight budget, one does wonder why the House of Delegates Appropriations Committee traveled to the Hotel Roanoke for its annual policy retreat. Don't they have meeting rooms in the newly renovated State Capitol? Would meeting there have saved taxpayers a little money? In times like these, every corn kernel counts.

Trickle down

Virginia's budget woes are trickling down to localities more and more every day. CCC has previously posted on the grist shortage that is impacting local governments, schools, and families. If you are like me, you are being a little more diligent about turning off lights and switching to energy efficient bulbs when the old ones die. We've turned the temp down a couple degrees and are using the wood stove more. Actually, we've done those things already and we never go to Starbucks and rarely go out to eat or the movies. What's left?

Counties and smaller cities across the commonwealth are finding new ways to save a few dollars. Staunton has turned off lights in parking garages during the day and is setting stop lights to blink at night to save electricity. Might also save gas for motorists? The Queen City is also combing public notices in newspaper ads. Bath County is giving a serious look at a four day school week to save on transportation and heating costs. Attendance at the Virginia Association of Counties Conference in Hot Springs was way down as localities trim travel costs. Hiring freezes are in place just about everywhere... most troubling when it affects public safety. There's more in the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Rural Localities Stretch Dollars.

Virginia isn't alone in scrambling to deal with the Bush downturn... recession... depression whatever you want to call our current situation. Yeah, I think the word depression is right-on in some communities. The hardest hit states are those which enjoyed housing booms that melted down in the subprime loans - California, Rhode Island, Florida, Arizona, and others. Compounding the situation is rising unemployment just as state unemployment funds are running on empty. States that rely on tourism are struggling. Oil producing states were doing well when oil was well over $100 a barrel, but are hurting as prices have been on a downward slide. And the prospects of a dismal holiday shopping season means less revenue from sales taxes, less part time employment... bad news all around for state and local government.

So, things are tough in Virginia and our localities, but it is worse in other places. The New York Times has more in Facing Deficits, States Get Out Sharper Knives.