Doyle calls for layoffs, furloughs, cuts
Gov. Jim Doyle said Thursday the budget deficit has exploded to up to $6.5 billion — a historic gap he wants to fix by laying off hundreds, furloughing all state workers for 16 days, rescinding 2% pay raises for some workers and deeper cuts in aid to schools and local governments, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Doyle said the $5 billion deficit he and lawmakers faced in March has ballooned to $6.5 billion, largely because of collapsing tax collections.
Under Gov. Doyle’s plan, announced Thursday:
• All state employees would be required to take 16 days of unpaid leave in the next two years, which should save the state about $120 million a year.
• The nearly 10,000 non-union state workers, including UW faculty and academic staff, will not receive a scheduled 2% pay increase in early June, a move expected to save about $30 million a year.
• The state will ask union members to reopen contract negotiations to achieve a similar 2% in payroll savings, or about $36 million a year. If the union doesn’t negotiate the pay cut, the state would need to lay off about 400 workers over the next two years.
• Doyle’s earlier budget called for 1% budget cuts across state government, but a top aide to the governor said there will now be deeper cuts — as much as 5% — at some state agencies.
