Crafting a state budget lately has been less about number crunching and more about keeping fingers crossed and hoping new revelations of financial mismanagement don’t collapse existing fiscal assumptions. With this in mind, the Baldacci administration wants a $109 million supplemental patch to its current budget enacted quickly before turning its attention to crafting the budget for the following year. There are merits to this approach – filling the existing hole quickly is prudent and saves money. However, there are also problems. For one, the numbers being discussed change almost daily, either due to recalculations or protests from lobbyists and the public.

The administration is on the right track with its two-step approach to the budgets for fiscal year 2004, which ends in June, and 2005. The issue is one of timing. There are too many questions yet unanswered and too many shifting numbers to justify trying to finish the ’04 budget this week, but that doesn’t mean the process can drag on for weeks.

Gov. Baldacci says his budget proposal is open to modification and he invited those with better ideas to present them. So far, he’s been met mostly with criticism but not concrete proposals for other ways to balance the books.

Republicans want to slow the budget process, causing some to frame this as a partisan battle. That is too bad. The Republicans are asking important questions and not receiving satisfactory answers. However, their time for presenting an alternative budget proposal is running short. Any detailed alternatives should be presented soon, certainly within the next two weeks. The governor should slow down the process to consider these proposals.

The most controversial cuts are the $22 million the governor has slated to take from MaineCare, the state’s Medi-caid program, which serves about 240,000 elderly and low-income Mainers. Those cuts were to take effect administratively – that means without a vote by the Legislature – Thursday. Due to concerns raised, only $6.6 million will be cut this week, with the remainder to be discussed further. This is an encouraging sign that the governor is serious about considering alternatives.

It is worth bearing in mind that balancing the budget now is hard work. All the easy cuts – taking money from the Rainy Day Fund, for example – have been done to patch past holes. Now, any money must come from “real” programs that affect the people who depend on them. Taking more time is a small price for getting it right.