Kansas City, Mo. – Missouri Governor Jay Nixon says the recent news of significantly smaller than expected revenues will mean some challenging choices for the state. The governor says he and other lawmakers are considering a number of ways to deal with the problem.
"You look at things like downsizing the state's vehicle fleet," said Nixon. "I mean, we have more state holidays than any other state in the country. You know, I've talked about getting rid of a couple of those. In Jefferson City, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Health, the Department of Agriculture all have labs. You know, we may have to merge those. There are some things that we can continue to look at privatizing."
Nixon stressed these are just some examples. He says solving the budget problem will require looking at multiple ways to restructure and resize government. He says he's not considering asking for a tax increase. He also says he's hoping for more federal flexibility to support social service programs.
The governor spoke about the budget situation yesterday following a news conference at the Metropolitan Community College. He visited the Maple Woods campus to unveil the first of many community college grants through the state's Training for Tomorrow' program. The college was awarded two million dollars to boost its animal health and health care training programs.
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