Gov. Martin O'Malley met Thursday with senior staffers to decide on hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts as the state's largest public-sector employee union called on him to protect vital services and warned about potentially "dangerous" cutbacks.
The administration has been poring over a list of budget cuts suggested by Cabinet secretaries - including a proposal to shutter some correctional facilities that would have saved $36 million but was rejected by O'Malley. The Democratic governor plans to present about $300 million in budget cuts to the Board of Public Works on Wednesday and another $400 million later this year.
"None of it will be popular," O'Malley told reporters after an event in Baltimore. "And all of it will require us all to make sacrifices and understand that we're in this together."
An hour later at another news conference, leaders from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees cautioned O'Malley not to jeopardize public health and safety and at-risk children with draconian budget cuts for correctional facilities, foster care, public health facilities and juvenile services.
The union's warning signals a political minefield for O'Malley. He already has gone through several wrenching rounds of budget cuts, but does so now with an election year looming, potentially setting up conflicts with some of his biggest allies. AFSCME contributed heavily to O'Malley's election in 2006, and donated a half-million dollars to the campaign for legalizing slot machines that he backed.
Patrick Moran, AFSCME's Maryland director, said union members, who in the past have provided get-out-the-vote support, would decide on their political activities in the 2010 election later. But he indicated that how O'Malley navigates the budgetary morass could impact those decisions.
"If they're unhappy, obviously that's going to transfer to the election," Moran said.
AFSCME represents more than 30,000 state workers, and about a dozen stood by Moran holding signs that read "No pay cuts" or "No layoffs" before television cameras. They complained that some agencies are understaffed and that state employees are overworked. They called on O'Malley to heed their priorities when making budget cuts.
Ed Shoemake, a resident adviser with the Department of Juvenile Services, said inadequate staffing levels have made some detention facilities unsafe for workers and surrounding communities. "A lot of my fellow co-workers in our youth centers are made to work nonvoluntary overtime on a daily basis, and our case managers are dealing with overwhelming caseloads," he said.
