TALLAHASSEE — Even after $7-billion in spending cuts, raids on cash reserves and salary freezes for state workers, the Florida budget is not back in the black: Another $800-million in red ink must be erased this year.
That raises questions of whether a 4 percent across-the-board spending holdback imposed on state programs by Gov. Charlie Crist will have to be made permanent for the second year in a row by the Legislature, forcing deeper cuts.
Normally, agencies receive 25 percent of their annual budget each quarter to spend. Crist's order means agencies are receiving just 24 percent to save money. The second quarter begins Wednesday.
Agency officials say, so far, they have absorbed the reduced funding by leaving jobs vacant and cutting travel and purchases.
Over a full year, the 4 percent holdback amounts to about $900-million, of which $419-million would be in education alone — including cuts of up to $20-million to Pinellas schools and $27-million in Hillsborough.
Democratic legislators are pressing Crist, claiming the holdback shuts them out of budget decisions the Legislature should be making. They also say they can't find out how the spending reduction is affecting people and programs, and that because the holdback is across the board, no priorities were determined.
Six weeks ago, the House Democratic Caucus, led by Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, sent Crist a letter saying legislators should play a bigger role in eliminating the hole.
"Our caucus would like to get a better grasp of how you plan to meet the deficit," Gelber wrote.
He said Thursday that after a productive meeting with two of Crist's top aides, he's still waiting for details. "Our position is that this 4 percent is a cut, not a holdback," he said.
Democrats accuse the Republican governor of postponing tough decisions, including possibly more cuts, until after the November election. State economists are projecting next year will be even worse: That the state will collect $3.5-billion less than it needs to continue current programs.
"The governor keeps saying it's going to get better in a couple of months, as if he has a crystal ball," said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. "Nobody has any idea when we're coming out of this."
Crist said he won't decide how to cover the rest of the shortfall until November, when the state economists update their forecast for Florida's finances next year.
Fears that the holdback will be permanent are especially worrisome to agencies paid by the state to serve the poor, disabled and children with special needs.
Pinellas-based Eckerd Youth Alternatives expects to shave $1.3-million from its budget to accommodate the holdback. Vice-president Marcie Biddleman said his group may ask churches or private groups to take over the role of supervised visitations between parents and children.
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