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Friday, January 22nd, 2010
This week began with Governor James Douglas's last budget address. The Governor laid out his plan to get Vermont out of the very serious financial situation we currently face. With a $150 million dollar deficit projected for next year we cannot continue to do business as usual. The Governor has proposed several areas that will need to be cut in order to balance this budget. There were many specific proposals but it appears that all aspects of the state government will be affected. The biggest cuts will take place in the Human Services portion of the budget. There were also proposals to modify the state employees and teacher retirement systems as well as other education costs. The speech can been found in its entirety by visiting my website at DonTurnerJr.com. Legislative leadership this year at least agreed to look at all of the Governor's proposals before dismissing them. This is a much different approach than I have experienced in the last several years.
This year's budget problem was compounded by last year's budget, which the legislature passed last session by overriding the Governors veto. I did not support that budget or the override and felt strongly that we should have addressed some residual costs issues last year. However, legislative leadership decided to flex the power of their super majority rather than look out for the well being of Vermonters. This action created a very serious situation for future budgets. The problem I saw was that the legislature was adding programs in a down economy with very little cutting of residual costs and too much reliance on the one time federal stimulus money. I will attempt to share a simplified analogy of this issue for you by comparing it to a situation that many of us may have faced in our own home during these tough economic times. If you needed a reliable vehicle, had a two person family income and one person's income had decreased substantially, would you put a down payment on a new car or buy a used vehicle outright with your income tax refund? In my house, we would have bought outright a vehicle that we could afford. The legislature last year decided to buy a Cadillac with no plan to pay for it or the gas it needs to operate.
Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant has taken center stage again in the media. The issues raised are becoming more and more of a concern to me. Most of the previous information provided to us focused on the importance of its continued operation and the cost benefits. I visited the plant as part of a legislative tour last year. We got to see first hand how secure, safe and functional the facility actually is. We also witnessed an unwavering commitment to the plant's continued operation by the employees and community. I remain in support of re-licensing the plant as long as it is deemed safe and economically feasible. However, I have received very little feedback from you on this issue. If you have strong feelings one way or another, please contact me to share your thoughts on this very important issue.
One of the things I enjoy most about serving in the legislature is hosting friends and constituents here at the Statehouse. If you would like to visit the Statehouse please feel free to contact me to arrange a date and time. As your representative, I look forward to representing you and your concerns in Montpelier. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns. I am very interested in hearing from you. During the session, I can be reached at the Statehouse by calling 1-800-322-5616 or by cell at 373-5960. My e-mail address is dturner@leg.state.vt.us. My web-site address is www.donturnerjr.com. Thank you and have a great week.