1 week Ago
Gov. Chris Sununu has told state agency heads to submit proposed budgets with at least a 4% cut in the first year of the two-year state budget cycle that starts July 1. With Republican Gov.
-elect Kelly Ayotte at his side on Tuesday, Sununu opened three days of presentations by department heads on their spending plans. “We gave them individual targets, asked them to present about a 4% reduction,” Sununu said. The next budget cycle is certain to be more challenging than the past two, when the state had record revenue growth along with billions in federal COVID relief funding.
“I remind folks we have had double-digit spending increases; we were looking at (state employee) vacancies as well,” Sununu said. “Let’s look at those as today’s needs and reduce it by about 4%.” Sununu gave his cabinet high marks for meeting that target.
“They all came back with very minimal disruption. My hat's off to them,” Sununu said. Sununu, who leaves office in January after deciding against seeking a record fifth term, said that since he took office eight years ago, the state Education Trust Fund went from a $50 million deficit to a $200 million surplus.
In similar fashion, the state’s Rainy Day Fund, set aside for fiscal emergencies, has grown from just above $100 million to $250 million over the same period of time. State law requires that any surplus money at the end of a two-year state budget go into the Rainy Day Fund. Administrative Services Commissioner Charles Arlinghaus said in the past, agency heads who didn't get all the funding they wanted through the budget process would seek more from the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee after the budget had passed.
"Agencies went to Fiscal like it was a giant piggybank," Arlinghaus said. "We are about to enter a time where there is no money in the pig and I want to say that in caution to state agencies.” Agriculture Commissioner Shawn Jasper said meeting the 4% spending cut forced him to make some difficult recommendations.
He proposed to cut the popular grant programs to about $20,000 each a year: • Cost of Care Fund : Originally $200,000 annually, this helps cities and towns cover the cost of care for animals brought to shelters after state charges of animal cruelty have been brought. • State Agricultural Fairs Grant : This was budgeted at $162,500 each year to support public works improvements at agricultural fairgrounds or fair buildings. • Agricultural Lands Preservation : Originally at $201,500, this is used to preserve land so farming practices can remain.
• Farm/Ranch Stress Assistance : This $100,000-a-year program was originally a federal grant that recently expired. State Liquor Commission Chairman Joe Mollica said nationally alcohol consumption went down in 2023 for the first time in 30 years. Mollica projects annual revenue of $137 million in the year that just ended June 30 will be stable with $138 million in 2026 and $138.
5 million in 2027. “The national trends for revenue are down. We aren’t experiencing that type of loss; if flat is the new up, then we are in good shape,” Mollica said.
Revenue Commissioner Lindsey Stepp suggested trimming her department’s $25 million budget by $800,000 in part by employing fewer consultants that have helped generate additional tax and fee payments to the state. “We have tried to figure out the right balance between utilizing the consultants and the staff,” Stepp said. Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks said she was able to meet the budget-cutting target because the Biden administration approved a federal Medicaid waiver that will generate more federal reimbursement to cover prescription drug costs for low-income inmates.
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