Building a solid budget

The recent chorus of praise for Maine’s solution to the state budget crisis may distract the Legislature from completing the rest of the job.

The generous accolades from newspaper editorial boards and the self-congratulations in guest columns authored by members of the Legislature build and reinforce the impression that Maine’s budget problems are solved and that we can quietly retreat back to business as usual.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m as pleased as anyone to receive positive comments and recognition of a job well done. The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee did produce four budget bills and an economic bond package. All received a “super-majority” vote (at least two-thirds of each House) of the Legislature and earned the signature of the governor.

Our decisive action allowed schools and communities time to adjust their budgets and maintained Maine’s excellent credit rating with national rating firms. No small task, particularly when we watch the economic and budget meltdown currently taking place in several other states.

The two-year budget that went into effect July 1 does meet the constitutional requirement of balancing revenues and expenditures. However, it also includes a number of significant “hoped for” savings that have not yet been realized. It also includes several large one-time sources of revenue that will not appear again while allowing major ongoing cost components of state government to continue. This technique creates a “structural gap” for the next two-year budget.

The Legislature’s Office of Fiscal and Program Review estimated that the structural gap for the next budget cycle is roughly $500 million. Yes, it’s lower than the budget problems we all faced this past winter; but by no means does it indicate that we are out of the woods. This gap represents the amount of state spending that exceeds Mainers’ ability to pay with tax dollars.

If we fail to deal with this problem when we return to the second year of this session, we will have failed to solve the budget problem during our watch. Instead, we will have pushed this onto the next Legislature.

The progress of this recently completed session should be viewed as the necessary first step towards a more permanent solution to our budget woes. We can make the most of this session’s bipartisan agreements and our positive working relationship with the governor.

The design of the budget we passed appropriately stabilized the economic impact and bought us time to implement long-term solutions. We have triaged the patient, so to speak. Now we must face the core policy questions and work for a lasting solution to Maine’s budget problems.

When we reconvene in Augusta next January, the Legislature must start the really hard work that will produce a structurally sound budget for Maine’s citizens.

You know many of the policy choices we will be asked to make: Do we raise or expand taxes to increase the flow of revenue? Will liquor, tobacco and gambling revenues satisfy our spending demands? Do we continue to expand the social safety net? Should we increase our level of borrowing? Should we reduce or, in some cases, eliminate tax-supported programs and the services they provide?

I am optimistic that the Appropriations Committee members under the able leadership of our chairs Sen. Mary Cathcart and Rep. Joseph Brannigan will be prepared to do the hard work necessary to build a budget for the future that balances state spending with your tax dollars.

Richard Rosen, of Bucksport, is a Republican state representative in District 113 – Bucksport and Orrington.