Fresh Loaf

Lock up your wives and daughters, mates! Walter Jones of Morris News Service and the Dalton Daily Citizen report that the Georgia General Assembly might have to return to the Gold Dome for a special session. The reason? The budget.

From Jones:

The length and depth of the current recession has prompted round after round of cutbacks in state spending, and now legislators are talking about the need for a special session to address it.

Tax collections were down in May, putting the decline at 10 percent for the 11 months of the fiscal year to date.

Economists say the recovery in the overall economy could begin in the fall, but state revenues lag, primarily because consumers continue to hold on to their money until they personally feel an improvement, say through a pay raise, bonus or promotion. The last recession resulted in depressed state revenues for about two years after the economy officially recovered.

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The AJC’s James Salzer reports:

State agencies can expect more furloughs and possibly layoffs into the upcoming fiscal year, legislative leaders said Monday.

House members will work this week to wrap up work on the spending plan for the year that starts July 1. The budget, which is expected to pass the Georgia House on Thursday, will continue major cutbacks for state agencies.

Lawmakers vowed that the budget would not contain the usual millions of dollars for local community assistance grants, commonly called “pork” at the Capitol.

“It would be irresponsible of us to put local assistance grants in when we’re asking people to make all these cuts,” said House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans). “In this kind of economic climate, it’s just not a high priority.”

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From this morning’s press release:

The High Museum of Art announced a series of budget cuts today, including across the board pay cuts and a 7% reduction of its staff. These reductions, combined with previous cost-cutting measures, will result in $1.4 million dollars in savings and will reduce the operating budget for fiscal year 2009 to $23.7M. These measures will enable the museum to continue to provide high quality and meaningful art and educational experiences to the community.

The High has instituted a series of pay cuts across the board, starting with the Director’s office. Michael Shapiro will take a 7% pay cut and other Director-level employees will take a 6% pay cut. All other employees will take a 5% pay cut. These cuts will extend through May 31, 2009. Beginning June 1 and extending through fiscal year 2010, salaries will be reinstated but employees will be required to take 2.6 weeks of unpaid leave. The staff reductions have been achieved through hiring freezes, redistribution of staff responsibilities and the elimination of five full-time positions and three temporary positions.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Estimated City of Atlanta budget shortfall in 2009: $140 million

Percentage of Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs budget Mayor Franklin proposes cutting: 15

Positions cut from the parks department in 1993 and 1998 due to budget concerns: 137

Positions cut from the parks department in 2002 due to budget concerns: 127

Approximate number of parks department employees today: 315

City recreation centers that will close temporarily this summer: 11

Recreation centers that will close permanently this summer: 2

Percentage total land in Atlanta devoted to public parks: 4.5

Park-related spending in Seattle per resident in 2005: $266

Park-related spending in Atlanta per resident in 2005: $91

Sources: City of Atlanta, Park Pride, Trust for Public Land

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