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In-depth briefing on state budget outlookApril 29, 2009 KALAMAZOO--Mitch Bean, director of the nonpartisan Michigan House Fiscal Agency, will travel to Kalamazoo Monday, May 4, to brief community and Western Michigan University leaders on the state and federal budget outlooks for the current and next fiscal years. In a session set for 9 a.m. in the Kirsch Auditorium of WMU's Fetzer Center, Bean will discuss the challenges inherent in the No. 1 issue at the state capitol--balancing the state budget while state tax revenues continue a steep decline. He will talk about the economy's impact on state tax revenues and how that will affect the state budget outlook. Bean's visit to Kalamazoo is being organized by WMU's Office of Legislative Affairs, with the support of southwest Michigan legislators. More than 100 community leaders have been invited to attend along with University personnel from across the campus. Those community leaders include Kalamazoo and Portage mayors and city commissioners, county commissioners, school district superintendents from across the area and the leaders of social service agencies. Bean's presentation will look at the fiscal challenges the Governor and state Legislature face in their discussions of how to resolve a projected $758 million deficit in the current year and at the same time write a new budget for next year with a significantly lower revenue base. Federal stimulus funding is a way to mitigate the projected budget shortfall, while another is to make budget cuts now to stabilize future budgets. Both options present their own set of serious consequences. Media contact: Cheryl Roland, (269) 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu WMU News |
