Budget Bulletin

Feb. 1, 2011 

Someone once said that laws are like sausages -- it's better not to watch either of them being made.

With that in mind, I urged in last week's Budget Bulletin that we should not overreact to the news that the House Appropriations Committee was proposing to cut the pay of state employees by 7.5 percent. I cautioned that there would be many twists and turns before the Legislature finally produced a bill that would be signed into law by Gov. Sam Brownback.

We expressed our concerns to members of the House Appropriations Committee, so I am not surprised that on Monday the committee revised the spending cuts before sending the measure to the full House for debate, likely later this week. Under the revised bill, the salary cuts are limited to elected officials, judges, legislators, statutory agency heads and those making more than $100,000 a year. In the latest version, the only salaries that would be affected at FHSU are mine and eight others.

I will not issue a Budget Bulletin for every new development during the legislative process, but I did want to let you know about this most recent change because I understand why the threat of a 7.5 percent salary cut was troubling to all of you.

My staff and I will continue to represent the interests of Fort Hays State University and our employees throughout the budget process, and I will keep you informed about important developments through these Budget Bulletins and, when needed, through University Open Forums.