budget shortfall

Martin O'Malley

BALTIMORE -- If November's slots referendum doesn't pass, the remaining option is more cuts, according to Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore).
 
"I don't think there is any political will for going back to revenues, because we've already looked at that," O'Malley told PolitickerMD.com at the state Democratic Party's One Week to Victory 2008 Gala on Monday.

The Board of Public Works approved over $345 million in additional budget cuts at Wednesday's meeting, according to the governor's office.

The reductions, which impact the fiscal year 2009 state budget, included over $297 million in general funds and $50 million in special and federal funds.

The announcement comes after Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore) began asking state agencies to identify cuts of up to 5 percent. The Board of Public Works also approved the elimination of 880 state positions, 830 of which were vacant.

"The cuts we are making today are not easy," O'Malley said in a statement.

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold (R) said Tuesday he will be submitting revisions to impact fee legislation currently pending in the county council.

The new proposal aims to temporarily cut a variety of fees certain developers are required to pay to the county government until 2010.

"In the current economic environment, we should help protect jobs and still ensure that developers pay their fare share to add infrastructure," Leopold said in a statement.  "In some cases, impact fees will be reduced during an interim period before full implementation. Anne Arundel County has critical needs with regard to roads and schools, and failure to act will exacerbate billions of dollars of backlogs."

Facing a looming budget shortfall, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore) announced he would be considering steeper cuts to funding for health care and education and is considering a furlough program, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Last month, the Board of Revenue Estimates reported the state's general fund revenues were at roughly $14 billion - $432 million less than original estimates.

To combat the deficit, O'Malley announced he would be asking state agencies to identify cuts of up to five percent in the current year's budget. The governor plans to present these cuts to the Board of Public Works on October 15. 

O'Malley said the nation's economic outlook and the result of November's slots referendum would influence the decision to make more cuts.

The Maryland Republican party says the state government doesn't have revenue problem, rather, it has a spending problem.

"The advertising from advocates of the slots constitutional amendment claims that the only solution to the projected deficit is to raise taxes or pass the referendum, I want to make it perfectly clear that the MDGOP is firmly opposed to raising taxes," said MDGOP chair Jim Pelura in a statement.

Pelura suggested that with a careful evaluation, spending could be brought under control.