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April 27, 2009
State Agencies Facing Deep Budget Cuts
In her January inaugural address, Governor Gregoire asked the
Legislature to summon the courage and the spirit of sacrifice to
confront the challenge of a generation, and that’s exactly what
they did.
The responsible budget recently approved by the Legislature
contains significant pain and sacrifice for Washingtonians. In
the weeks, months and years to come, Washingtonians will feel
the impacts of the hard decisions we were required to make after
our mortgage and financial markets set off the deep national
recession in which we find ourselves.
Even those programs and services left intact in this budget must
adjust for significant reductions in "administrative" spending,
which means there will be fewer people to deliver the services
in their current forms.
We also prepared our state for a 21st century economy -
especially in the monumental steps we took to build a
transportation system that will create thousands of jobs and
help us emerge stronger from this recession. What we did is
truly monumental - not just for the most-populated part of this
state but for Washington’s economic future as a whole. The
Legislature also moved forward on a long-range strategy to
revitalize the ferry service by constructing new vessels while
keeping fares affordable.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board is closely analyzing
the budget to determine the reductions in service that will be
required as a result of the spending reductions. We will provide
this information to you as it comes available.
This year is all about austerity and sacrifice, but equally,
it’s about wise and careful choices to ensure we come out of
this recession strong. We appreciate your help as we work to
ensure a solid foundation for our children and grandchildren.
More information regarding the state 2009-11 Biennial Budget is
available on Governor Gregoire’s Web site or by clicking
here.
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