Phil Valentine's Proposed Growth Reductions and Spending Cuts
From Governor Sundquist's 1999-2000 Budget

Editor's Note: This information is from the budget which was debated in the Spring of 1999. After these items were brought up on the Phil Valentine Show, many were cut or reduced. Due to the complicated accounting methods of the state budget, we're not entirely sure which items were cut and which items were simply moved out of public view. The total amount saved in this particular scenario is somewhere around $1.4 billion. That doesn't include any TennCare reform which takes up 25% of the total budget.

The following is a list of proposed growth reductions and spending cuts we've taken from Governor Don Sundquist's 1999-2000 Budget. The page number refers to the actual page number from the budget issued by the Governor's office. Some programs and departments are funding from a combination of state and federal money and by issuing bonds. When appropriate, funding sources will be noted. Otherwise, money is to come from the state budget.

1-Spending Cuts
*These are items we have taken out of the budget completely. We feel they are either unnecessary or can be funded from the private sector.

2-Send Back For Reassessment of Cost
*These items appear to be too costly and need to be reassessed.

3-Cut Number of Jobs Back to 1997-1998 Level But Fund at 1999-2000 Level
*These items we have cut back the employees to the 1997-98 Budget level but averaged their pay based on the new budget.

4-Fund at 1997-1998 Level Plus 6% Cost of Living Increase
*This includes the bulk of the growth reductions. Spending has increased at an alarming rate in the last two years. We have gone back two budgets and increased spending by 6%, more than the rate of inflation. In the process we've saved hundreds of millions of dollars.

* The Miscellaneous Appropriations Budget is not broken down so it is impossible to determine what's in it. We have increased it over the 1997-98 budget by 6% keeping in mind that revisions might be necessary.

Education
* In the Educational Budget it is difficult to determine if the figures on B-65 represent the cumulative effect of the following pages in the Education section since the numbers don't add up. Also keep in mind that the slowing of growth in this department targets the bureaucracy and not the teachers.

Universities, Community Colleges & Technical Institutes
Administrative and Faculty Payrolls
*In many cases, spending on employee payrolls has far outpaced enrollment increases. In some cases, enrollment is actually down yet employment and payroll spending have increased.

Health and Social Services
*The number of positions in this department has decreased but the payroll has increased by about $47 million since the 1997-98 budget! Again, we've gone back to 1997-98, increased the average salary by 6% and multiplied that by 16,701 (the number of current employees). Just by doing that we saved almost $21 million. TennCare's operational expenses have decreased by $10 million over the last two years but the number of employees has risen by 34% and the payroll has increased by 30%.

*This department includes TennCare and Families First, two programs which should be seeing a reduction in their rolls during this unprecedented time of prosperity. Yet, the operational budget of this department has skyrocketed over the past two years, up over $800 million!

Law, Safety, and Correction
*We've left in place the 120 increase in employment in this department. However, we funded the payroll at the 1997-98 budget level plus 6% and saved almost $30 million.

Resources and Regulation
*We've left in place the 108 increase in employment in this department. However, we funded the payroll at the 1997-98 budget level plus 6% and saved over $12 million.

Transportation, Business, and Economic Development
*The number of employees in this department decreased by 357 employees but the payroll increased by about $37 million! Again, we went back two years, figured the average salary, increased it by 6% then multiplied by the new number of employees. We saved over $34 million. The operational budget was even more bloated increasing over $249 million.