South By North Strategies, Ltd.

A new report from the N.C. Budget and Tax Center analyzes Gov. Beverly Perdue’s proposed changes to the 2010-11 budget for North Carolina.  From the report’s overview section …

Governor Beverly Perdue’s proposed budget reflects the impact that the deep and prolonged recession is having on the state government’s ability to fulfill its basic responsibilities. Even when including additional federal assistance, state government will be approximately 10 percent smaller than it would need to be to return to pre-recession service levels.
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The recession continues to put pressure on state government by driving down revenues and driving up costs, thus forcing budget writers to make tough choices. The governor’s budget proposal scales back programs and services that people and communities depend on and increases fees like community college tuition and community service fees paid by probationers. The proposal would provide addition funding to a few areas, such as maintaining open enrollment in the state’s health insurance program for children and providing a salary step increase for teachers. For the most part, however, state government continues to ratchet back its overall scope of work.