Officials leery of hopeful state budget projections

Area legislators say the state budget for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 agreed on Sunday offers less pain for public education and public safety than earlier anticipated, but still worries the lawmakers because of the revenue forecast.

The $70 billion state spending plan voted on Sunday night contains a $253 million cut from public education, which House District 25 Del. Steve Landes said is several hundred million less than the

earlier forecast.

“That cut is a far cry from the $1 billion being cut from public education mentioned before the session,’’ said Landes, R-Weyers Cave, who was one of the House budget conferees.

And an earlier proposal to fund deputies for sheriff’s departments at 1 per 2,000 people was amended to 1 to 1,500.

Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, said the more modest change in the final budget version will help departments like the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, which had looked at losing 12 deputies.

But Hanger and House District 20 Del. Dickie Bell have their concerns about the revenue forecasts for the budget.

The budget is built on a 3 to 4 percent revenue increase in the first year, and 4 to 5 percent the second year.

“I’m concerned about the revenue projections. They seem a little ambitious given this economy,’’ said Bell, R-Staunton.

Hanger said if the economy stabilizes, the projections are realistic. If the economy does not revive, it will mean cuts the next session of the General Assembly.

Landes said he was pleased that the House was able to get the Senate to compromise on new fees.

The final $95 million in new fees for two years are service-related, and will not directly impact the taxpayer, according to Landes.

Hanger said another key was deferring $620 million in state payments to the Virginia Retirement System.

“We were able to delay some of the pain by underpaying the retirement system,’’ Hanger said.

The VRS deferred payments will have to be repaid starting in 2013.

Also restored in the final version of the budget is $4 million to keep Staunton’s Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents open.

The Shenandoah Valley legislators say they are satisfied the balanced budget was passed in a timely manner considering the difficult money situation Virginia is facing.

“This is incredible given the situation we had,’’ Bell said. “The budget is a real credit to a lot of folks. We could have easily been there a long time hammering this thing out.”

Hanger said a lot of states have “run up against brick walls” on their budgets.

“I’m pleased we were able to do it,’’ he said.

Landes called his service as a budget conferee daunting, saying he had to familiarize himself with parts of the budget he did not know that well.

“This was interesting, tiring and challenging,’’ he said of service as a conferee.