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State budget cuts will affect county programs for needy
Ohio Job and Family Services Department ordered to cut $80M in spending as state tries to fill $540M deficit.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
COLUMBUS — County officials should know in about a week how much state aid they'll lose for programs that help needy Ohioans pay for housing, utilities and other needs.
That's how long it will take officials in the state Job and Family Services Department to calculate details of the nearly $80 million in spending cuts the department will take as part of Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to fill a new $540 million hole in the state budget, department spokesman Dennis Evans said Tuesday, Sept. 30.
OJFS distributes state money for the services to the counties.
The $79.9 million cut to OJFS was the largest of those outlined to state departments and agencies by budget director Pari Sabety in a memo on Tuesday.
Coupled with $733 million in budget adjustments made last January, the new changes for the two-year budget period ending June 30, 2009, now come to $1.27 billion.
Besides the cuts, Strickland is using $342 million in cash management actions — such as taking cash from non-tax funds created by fees and licenses — to fill the budget hole.
Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director, Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, said the cuts would come at a time when counties are dealing with "tremendous caseload increases" in the wake of the slowed economy.
"The counties are just as broke as the state. The federal government is collapsing. The state government is collapsing and the county governments are collapsing ...," she said.
The Ohio Board of Regents, which coordinates higher education, also took a major hit — $22.2 million.
Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut cut his salary 4.75 percent ($196,019 to about $186,700), the cut Strickland ordered for most state agencies.
Also, the agency is laying off five people, not filling five vacancies and consolidating two jobs, Regents spokesman Michael Chaney said.
"These budget reductions do represent very difficult decisions that are necessary, but despite the downturn in the economy, the governor is not losing sight of the need to maintain vital services and also investing in education and job creation to move the economy forward," said Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman.
