By PATRICK JACKSON
The News Journal
01/28/2005
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner on Thursday sent lawmakers a $2.74 billion budget for next year that would expand the state police, raise prison guard pay and begin to implement several of her key education initiatives.
Minner's proposed budget is about 5.5 percent bigger than the current spending plan, but leaves about $153 million in department spending requests unmet.
Nevertheless, Republicans say they're preparing for a fight.
GOP leaders said the governor's proposals for state police and prisons don't go far enough, and that the plan doesn't include the business and individual tax cuts they're seeking.
Minner's budget would invest heavily in education, adding $1.3 million to hire math/reading specialists in 22 lowest-performing middle schools, $6.3 million more to cover rising enrollments, $3 million to begin phasing in all-day kindergarten in elementary schools, and $1 million to begin a junior college scholarship program for all students who meet state standards in high school.
Minner also proposed on Thursday a $631.1 million capital improvements budget, down from this year, and a $41.3 million grant-in-aid budget that supports fire departments, senior centers, libraries and nonprofit groups.
"I think it takes care of our needs," Minner said. "If you wanted to talk about the things I'd have liked to have included that aren't here, we would be here until tomorrow."
The biggest increases in spending result from built-in costs of doing business, she said. The state's share of the Medicaid low-income health insurance program will cost $45.8 million more next year; raises for state workers that average about 5.4 percent will cost $31.7 million more, and larger pension and insurance contributions will add $25.9 million to the budget for the year that begins July 1.
Other increases include:
• $469,000 to add 11 more state troopers.
• $4.3 million to cover the costs of pay increases for correctional officers and to meet recommendations from task forces studying prison security problems.
• $10 million to continue cancer initiatives, such as colon cancer screening and payment for cancer treatment for the uninsured.
But Minner left out the one thing Republicans really wanted - tax cuts.
She repeated her position that she would not discuss tax cuts until June when the state gets its last 2006 revenue estimate from the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council. Even then, Minner said, she would balance requests for tax cuts with "other worthy projects and programs."
That was enough to send House Republicans into a tizzy.
Rep. Deborah Hudson, R-Fairthorne, said she plans to hold meetings with business leaders and offer a plan to do away with the state's gross receipts tax on business within five years when lawmaker come back to Dover in mid-March.
"We passed this as a Band-Aid in 1975 and it's been here for 30 years, " she said. "I think we're disrespecting the businesses that are here paying taxes, including this hidden sales tax, when we do nothing to help them and go out shopping for new businesses."
Rep. John C. Atkins, R-Millsboro, chairman of the House Corrections Committee, said he thought Minner should commit at least $9 million to prison pay issues.
Rep. Joe Di Pinto, R-Wilmington West, said the Joint Finance Committee would take up the issue during its hearings, which begin next month. Last year, the committee ordered a pay study for the Department of Correction and a study to see about providing a career ladder for correction workers. Those reports are due before the committee wraps work on the budget in May. The budget must be adopted by June 30.
David Knight, a lobbyist for the Correctional Officer's Association of Delaware, said Minner's plan offers a good starting point for recruiting and retaining staff.
Di Pinto, the finance committee's co-chairman, said he was disappointed by the lack of attention paid to mental health programs in the budget.
"You've got to understand, I was only briefed this afternoon and have only had a chance to take a cursory look at this," he said. "As packages go, it's not too bad, but it's also clear we've got a lot of work to do - especially when it comes to taking care of those who can't take care of themselves."
House Speaker Terry Spence, R-Stratford, said he was upset that Minner's plan ignored his request to boost the ranks of the Delaware State Police by 100 officers over the next two budget cycles. The estimated cost for Spence's plan ranges between $5 million and $7 million.
Public Safety and Homeland Security Secretary David B. Mitchell said Minner's proposal is "reasonable" and he is working on reorganizing state police to take more troopers off desk duty and put them on the streets.
Contact Patrick Jackson at 678-4274 or pjackson@delawareonline.com.
