Cuts Ordered As N.D. Sees $1B Budget Shortfall Amid Oil Slump
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has ordered deep cuts to state government and a massive raid on state savings to make up for a more than $1 billion budget shortfall due to a drop in oil drilling and depressed crude prices.
Dalrymple announced the cuts to state agency officials on Monday.
The Legislature's record $14.4 billion budget for the two years that began July 1 was built on economic assumptions last year that have proven far too rosy. Oil prices, a key contributor to the state's wealth, have taken a nosedive in the past year.
To balance the budget, Dalrymple will take more than $497 million from the state's rainy day fund, leaving it with about $75 million.
The governor also ordered agencies to cut their budgets by 4.05 percent.
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