By Dan Conti/Gary Pitts
Frankfort, KY – Governor Steve Beshear is expected to propose budget cuts of seven to nine percent for most state agencies when he lays out his next two-year spending plan to a joint session of the Kentucky legislature tomorrow. The governor told those agencies last month they'll need to reduce expenses by two percent to balance the budget this fiscal year. He made it apparent during his State of the Commonwealth speech earlier this month that the new budget will cause real pain.
"We will be cutting, a lot. We will of course continue to find efficiencies. But the numbers are so wretched that we will likely be forced to carve into some of our most critical basic services. And it will hurt."
Still, the governor says, Kentucky can't cut its way to prosperity; the state needs to take some action to improve its revenue picture in the future. He says expanded gambling is one way to do that.