2 weeks Ago
House budget writers faced some tough questioning from their Senate counterparts Monday over proposals to eliminate the state’s Office of the Child Advocate and Housing Appeals Board and lay off about 100 employees in the state prison system. The leadership on the House Finance Committee got a polite but at times critical response as the Senate Finance Committee opened its review of the $15.4 billion, two-year spending plan the House approved late last week.
“We have a good mix of things,” said House Chairman Ken Weyler, R-Kingston, alluding to the blueprint that combines significant cuts in spending with major fee increases to deal with revenue estimates that were $770 million below those of Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Sen.
Dan McGuire, R-Epsom, defended his proposal to lay off Child Advocate Cassandra Sanchez and her 10-person staff, calling the office “redundant” to the in-house oversight work done at the state Division of Children, Youth and Families on cases of at-risk youth. Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, questioned the timing of the cut, with the state closing the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester and building a treatment-centered replacement on the grounds of the former Hampstead Hospital in her hometown. “Don’t you think we are going to need the child advocate to oversee what is happening at the new YDC?” Birdsell asked, referring to the Sununu center's former name, the Youth Development Center.
McGuire said hiring the best management for existing agencies is the answer. “I think we need good leadership in YDC and DCYF,” McGuire said. While the Housing Appeals Board did some good work in handling appeals of local planning and zoning decisions, McGuire said it’s too expensive, costing up to $10,000 for each case compared to the cost of just over $1,000 per case in the court system.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, said it takes 6 to 12 months for a matter to be resolved by the appeals board, compared with 12 to 18 months in the courts. “I’m reminded of that old saying, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’” Lang said. McGuire responded that the court system hired a new superior court judge to work on land-use cases, which should reduce the backlog.
“Budgeting is about tradeoffs. To me the (housing board) is not near the top,” McGuire said. Four days after House members defied GOP leaders and restored spending $14 million on tourism advertising and $2.
4 million for the state Board of Land and Tax Appeals to save another $2.4 million, McGuire told senators they might decide these cuts are preferable to others the House acted upon. Regarding the prison, Birdsell wondered if eliminating jobs is just going to cause overtime to skyrocket.
The Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee for the past several years has approved overspending in the millions for prison overtime. McGuire said none of the jobs he would erase were prison guards, but he admitted needing to do more work to fine tune the right list of layoffs. “I don’t consider the list final.
It is not horrible but it is not quite right,” McGuire said. Rep. Jess Edwards, R-Auburn who chairs the group that writes the Health and Human Services budget told senators if they find more money, he’d recommend undoing a 3% cut in Medicaid provider rates.
Other spending that could be restored if possible would be more personnel expenses at the Glencliff Home for the Elderly in Etna and the New Hampshire Hospital in Concord along with family planning grants for Coos County in the Great North Woods, Edwards advised. What’s Next : Senate budget writers will spend the next seven weeks crafting its two-year spending plan. Prospects : With Republicans in control of the House, Senate and corner office, a compromise should be reached in June but many of the final details remain unknown.
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