Cuts

Spending cuts pose a threat to citizens While all citizens should support efforts to increase government efficiency, The Sun's editorial calling for deeper cuts in current programs ("Not deep enough," July 12) seems to ignore a critically important fact: According to the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute, Maryland ranked 48th among the 50 states in total state and local government revenues as a percentage of income in 2004. We may be a wealthy state (Maryland is No. 2 in the nation in median household income, according to the most recent figures)

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Eastman Kodak Co. will eliminate as many as 5,000 more jobs than originally planned as it accelerates its withdrawal from the consumer film business. The world's biggest photography company said yesterday that it now expects job cuts to total 28,000 to 30,000, shrinking the work force to about half its size four years ago, compared with an earlier forecast of 25,000 to 27,000. That will boost restructuring costs to as much as $3.8 billion, Kodak said. Chief Executive Officer Antonio Perez is stepping up his restructuring plans to deliver on his promise to complete Kodak's transformation into a digital company this year amid slumping film demand.

Good morning -- Maryland racing -- What are the next cuts, making the horses run without any shoes?

The House of Delegates approved a $17.5 billion state budget bill yesterday that would give lawmakers the option of accepting or refusing Gov. Parris N. Glendening's proposed tobacco tax increase.A majority of House Republicans joined all but one Democrat in passing the Glendening budget on a 127-12 vote. The bill, which would cut $173 million from the governor's proposed budget, moves to the Senate.Del. Howard P. Rawlings, the House Appropriations Committee chairman, said the budget is balanced whether or not they approve the governor's proposed $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase.

The St. Paul Cos. Inc. said yesterday that its current round of job cuts will result in the firings of 1,250 employees worldwide, including 200 at the insurer's Mount Washington and Owings Mills offices.The notices went out to employees starting last week, and will be sent throughout this week. The fired workers will generally stay on for 60 days after receiving notice, and receive severance packages and placement assistance.The terminations, which cut across several departments, account for about 9 percent of the Minnesota company's work force.

The proposed $1.8 billion Baltimore 2000 budget came to life yesterday as residents called for a 10-cent property tax cut and protested recreation cuts and a failure to increase library funding.At the Board of Estimates' annual Taxpayers Night, faces that have become familiar to city officials returned to complain about what they called misplaced priorities.The biggest hue and cry came from residents who use recreation centers. During the past three years, Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke has cut recreation funding while turning over some of its duties to Police Athletic League centers.

WASHINGTON -- House Republican leaders will ask their members to vote today for a 1.4 percent cut in most government spending proposed for next year.If approved, the across-the-board cuts are expected to be vetoed by President Clinton and run the risk of opening the Republicans to criticism for cutting popular programs.The move would let the Republicans finish their budget work without raising taxes or borrowing from the Social Security trust fund."We can see the goal line now," said Tony Rudy, a top aide to House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas.

The Baltimore County Council agreed yesterday to cut $1.9 million from County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger's $1.7 billion operating budget, sparing virtually every major program and pay raise proposed by the executive.The council, which is scheduled to adopt the budget formally May 28, agreed at a work session yesterday to keep the tax rate at $2.855 per $100 of assessed value, where it has been for five years.That means that with increased property assessments, the average yearly Baltimore County residential property tax bill will rise $23 to $1,433 in July, county officials said.

ARMONK, N.Y. -- International Business Machines Corp., the world's largest computer maker, said yesterday that it will cut up to 10 percent of the work force in its 10,000-person PC group, the latest effort to trim the unit's losses.Some of the personal computer workers will be reassigned to other units, the company said. The cuts, largely in the marketing group, will be made by the end of the year. IBM is merging its consumer and business PC operations to further reduce costs.IBM lost nearly $1 billion in its PC business last year because a glut of machines led it and rivals to slash prices.

CONGRESS HAS failed once more to pass a budget. So its Republican leaders are headed into another high-stakes showdown with the president. Think of it as "budgetmania," an offshoot of "Wrestlemania": House Speaker Dennis "Dandy Denny" Hastert, an Illinois Republican, teams up with Majority Whip Tom "The Hammer" DeLay, a Texas Republican, to take on President Bill "Slick Willy" Clinton, the defending champion.At stake, a $500 billion purse, give or take a few billion. Smoke, mirrors, posturing, lots of disguises, villains and heroes.

Both Mayor Sheila Dixon and Gov. Martin O'Malley made a stir last week for acknowledging the inevitable: Despite their efforts to avoid it, the depth of the budget crisis facing the city and the state will force cuts to the most sacred of public priorities: firefighters, police and teachers. Ms. Dixon is in the midst of negotiations with the police and fire unions to trim their budgets for the current fiscal year by $8 million, part of her effort to make $60 million in cuts citywide. And Mr. O'Malley told superintendents at a meeting this week to start scouring their budgets for savings, noting that "virtually every other aspect of state government has been cut."

Baltimore's fire unions have tentatively agreed to take five furlough days between now and next June and to accept a wage freeze after that as their share of cuts demanded by the city to help close a $60.2 million budget gap. Members of the unions representing 1,600 firefighters and officers will vote on the agreement Wednesday, knowing that if the agreement is rejected, the dispute would probably be resolved in binding arbitration that could end with...

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon delayed plans to buy a firetruck, reduced outside legal funds and took $100,000 from a witness protection program run by the Housing Department, three of nearly 100 snips Wednesday that the city's agencies recommended to reduce spending by $12.9 million and contribute to the overall $60.2 million budget reduction program. "It was a difficult task," said Baltimore's budget director, Andrew Kleine. "I think we have come up with a plan that is not going to be overly detrimental to key services."

Baltimore city government would be closed for five days between October and June as most workers participate in a new furlough plan that the city's spending board will be asked to approve this week to help plug a $60.2 million gap in the city's $2.3 billion budget. Firefighters and police also would have to accept furloughs or equivalent reductions to make the cost-saving program work, city officials said, but union leaders are resisting any plan that takes their members off the streets, arguing that further cuts to their agencies would endanger the public.

The state's budget troubles just keep getting worse. Gov. Martin O'Malley said Wednesday that he might need to close a further budget gap of up to $300 million this fiscal year with more cuts - on top of $735 million in reductions approved in recent weeks. State officials will know the extent of the writedown when a board that forecasts revenue collections releases its report Thursday. "Hopefully, we're starting to come through the other side of this, but we have yet to see the rebound in the revenues," O'Malley told reporters.

To listen to Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch, the state is starving. "You're down to bone and gristle now when it comes to state government," the Democrat recently said in response to the $454 million cut from the current budget last month by the Board of Public Works. The state has burned $736 million worth of flab from the $14 billion 2010 operating budget in the past two months. But the trims do not imperil big government in Maryland. And they resemble a series of bulimic purges more than any systemic dietary changes - meaning more rounds of cuts will be necessary to balance the budget in coming years.

Howard County residents could face a higher risk of swine flu, an immediate halt to road repaving and higher costs at Howard Community College this winter because of the loss of $8.3 million more in state funding announced last week. Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the county health officer, said he would have to lay off up to 10 people and end some services at county clinics, such as programs for smoking cessation, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, and cancer, tuberculosis and other screenings.

A looming new round of $250 million in cuts in state aid to local governments has Howard County officials searching for ways to absorb the reductions, though County Executive Ken Ulman said he does not yet know their exact scope. Meanwhile, he is meeting with county budget director Raymond S. Wacks to look for more ways to save money. The county lost $14.5 million last spring in state funding for the current fiscal year, prompting Ulman to impose furloughs, lay off several employees, limit pay raises, leave some vacant jobs unfilled and trim general fund spending by about 4 percent.

A plan to furlough state employees could require those in lower income brackets to take fewer unpaid days, and workers may agree to some changes in health benefits, officials said yesterday. Details of $470 million in budget cuts that Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to announce later this month emerged Tuesday during a hearing of legislative budget committees in Annapolis. Budget Secretary T. Eloise Foster said the administration is preparing a list of cuts that will target employee compensation and local aid to present to the Board of Public Works on Aug. 26. Negotiations with labor representatives are continuing, and administration officials declined to provide many specifics.

The University System of Maryland will cut 175 jobs and freeze hiring as part of its overall plan to cut $37.8 million from the 2010 budget, a move that probably will lead to fuller classrooms and the elimination of underenrolled courses, said Chancellor William E. Kirwan. Kirwan submitted his planned cuts Friday to the state Department of Budget and Management. They are part of the $281 million in statewide cuts announced by Gov. Martin O'Malley last week to make up for shortfalls in this year's budget.