Fiscally Responsible Budget Restrictions Outlined
Highlighting the need to rise to the challenge and be resolute in managing public resources while addressing public needs with efficiency and imagination, Governor Lingle presented details of her Administration's budget implementation policies for fiscal year 2009 (FY09), which begins on July 1, 2008.
State Department of Budget and Finance offices.
The Administration's budgetary spending plan calls for restrictive and cautionary management of state general fund operating expenses, while accelerating capital improvement programs to invest in the repair and modernization of infrastructure statewide.
In a letter sent to all state departments this week, the Governor called on directors to implement fiscally prudent budget execution policies for FY09 in light of reduced revenue forecasts, the prospect of continued moderation in the state's economy, and significant state expenditure increases due to collective bargaining costs and fringe benefit obligations, including post-employment benefits.
Because of these conditions, the Lingle-Aiona Administration will implement a 4 percent restriction on FY09 general fund appropriations for all departments. The spending restriction, which totals $33.3 million, applies to discretionary operating expenses only, and is in addition to the 4 percent budget reduction imposed by the State Legislature in the supplemental budget (Act 158 SLH 2008) that was passed this legislative session.
"Every department must exercise prudence and practice sound management in how it spends public funds," the Governor said in her letter to the departments. "Every expenditure must compete for priority in the State's spending plan relative to all other funding requirements of the state. Above all, you must guard against unjustified, unintended or automatic expansion of your budget base," the Governor told the department heads.
