Budget, staff and service cuts considered at Texas Parks and Wildlife

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More Diversion of funds by Perry and Legislature




It's an election year with tea party overtones, the next session of the Texas Legislature is just around the corner, and we know there are rough financial times ahead for state agencies.

Already I'm hearing horror stories from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, some of which are frightening, baffling and just wrong. Park closures, employee layoffs, facility shutdowns.

Parks and Wildlife officials haven't made their Legislative Appropriations Request yet. That comes up in a couple of weeks, which means Executive Director Carter Smith is saying he doesn't know exactly what cuts the department will have to make. But there's no doubt some things, and some people, are going to be cut loose.

"The Legislative Budget Board instructed all state agencies to submit their proposed (fiscal year 2014-15) budgets and exceptional item requests at the end of August," Smith said when I asked him about rumors circulating that TPWD is about to reduce jobs and thus services.

"In addition," Smith said, "the (Legislative Budget Board) and Gov. Perry requested that the agencies submit a schedule of proposed budget cuts equivalent to a 10 percent reduction. For TPWD, that proposed 10 percent reduction equates to a little over $36 million. That is a significant impact to our budget."

Smith declined to elaborate other than to say: "There are no real details I can share about our proposed cut schedule at this juncture as we are still evaluating our options. I will be in a position to share more in the next couple of weeks. Nothing will be finalized until we sort through some significant details."

I can understand that Smith doesn't want to lay out any plans the department has made that would include jobs lost and facilities and services that must be reduced. There's no need to create a panic among employees. But be aware he used the words "our cut schedule."

more
http://www.statesman.com/sports/outdoors/budget-staff-and-service-cuts-considered-at-texas-2434259.html

[TeamPooka]

1. A buddy of mine works for them.

Hope he keeps his job.
I'm going to give him a call.

[mbperrin]

2. Even though the state is broke, some idiot(s) keep claiming

we're in a boom.

Laying off tens of thousands of teachers and state employees is not a boom.

[They_Live]

3. Perry is such a tool

He needs to be audited, and most probably needs to be sued. He keeps using the State's coffers for his personal expenses (10K plus - per month for his living quarters & almost 2 million for his security during his failed Presidential campaign), and continues to cut essential services for Texans. The jerks will not be satisfied until they've "privatized" and looted everything we take for granted.
Coming soon to your "state parks": Fracking, Drilling, luxury hotels, carnival midways, gas stations, and fast food chains.