Governor Bill Haslam says growing expenses may force Tennessee to cut some state jobs in the coming year. In budget hearings with Haslam this week some department heads said they might have to lay off state workers.
Haslam says the state is actually bringing in more money this year, but not enough to keep up with costs that continually grow, like education and employee health insurance. Today he said the state has to close a $3-4 hundred million budget gap.
This week Haslam’s department heads have been showing him what 5 percent cuts could mean – and the results include trimming back state workers.
“We’re showing that 5 percent to see what our alternatives are. There’s a really good chance that a lot of that doesn’t happen, but we need to be prepared if it does. If it does, we obviously will prioritize.”
Haslam also says the state has to plan ahead in case federal cuts mean less money going into Tennessee’s budget.
This will be the fourth state budget since former Governor Phil Bredesen announced buyouts to cut more than a thousand state jobs in 2008.
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