State proposals for slicing spending could include layoffs

RICHMOND

State spending cuts could range from 2 percent to 20 percent and may include layoffs, but cuts to schools will probably be delayed to next year, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday.

Every line item in the two-year, $77 billion budget is subject to cuts, Kaine said during his monthly radio call-in show.

State officials are wrestling with how to trim $2 billion to $2.9 billion from the two-year spending plan, which took effect July 1, after they were told this week that weakening state economy will dramatically cut the amount of revenue coming from state sales taxes and income taxes.

State agency chiefs have been asked by Kaine to submit by today proposals for slicing spending by 5 percent, by 10 percent and by 15 percent.

“Some agencies may get cut 20 percent and some may get cut 2 percent and some we may decide we need to add a little bit to. I end up not making decisions across the board because not everything is equally important,” Kaine said.

He said that unlike previous austerity moves, even core services that provide society’s safety net are “under the microscope.”

“Education, public safety and health care, especially for the elderly or low-income folks, those are the things we’ve got to protect most,” he said.

But even those services should brace for less funding in the future, Kaine said.

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell said Thursday that he will cut his budget by 9.1 percent, reducing his own salary and returning his state-leased vehicle.

“As the governor determines what budget cuts to order by executive action, I have taken this proactive step,” McDonnell said in the statement.

McDonnell, who is expected to run for governor in 2009, said his office will cut its general fund budget by $3.8 million and will reduce his salary by 2 percent, the statement says. The return of his leased 2005 Ford Explorer is expected to save $5,000, according to his statement.

McDonnell said 10 of his executive attorneys also have voluntarily reduced their salaries by 2 percent for the next six months. He also has instituted a hiring freeze and has not filled vacant positions, the statement said. McDonnell also has reduced travel reimbursement rates and eliminated some fax machines and phone lines.

The two-year budget for McDonnell’s office is about $72 million, part of which comes from the state’s general fund, the statement said. The rest comes from other sources, including the federal government.

Staff writer Cindy Clayton and The Associated Press contributed to this story.