Gov. Brown Slashes State Budget
By Mike Luery
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS13) -- Governor Jerry Brown is cutting state government funding to save money – and in just his first week on the job, has already realized more than $7million in savings. Brown is fundamentally changing the way California does business by:
*Cutting his own budget by $4.5 million, a 25% reduction in spending
*Returning $650,000 to the state treasury in money he won't be using in the transition
*Eliminating the entire office of the Secretary of Education – an advisory post with no real power.
"It is redundant," said Steven Glazer, a special adviser to Governor Brown. Glazer told CBS 13, "We have a Superintendant of Public Instruction. We also have a Board of Education. And it's an office that costs almost $2 million, with about 16 positions in it and it's not necessary."
Brown fulfilled his promise to cut his own budget by 25 percent. How did he do it?
*Cutting staffers for his Washington, D.C. office
*Cutting positions in his own press and communications staff
*Eliminating the position of Cabinet Secretary and all deputy cabinet secretaries
*Getting rid of the Office of the First Lady
*Closing the Governor's field offices in San Diego, Fresno and Riverside
*Eliminating the Inspector General position (as a federal stimulus fund watchdog) six months ahead of time, for a savings of $700,000.
"It is important to lead by example," Glazer told CBS 13. He added that Brown "wants to find every way to find efficiency and get rid of duplication at every level and he's starting in the governor's office."
We'll be hearing about more cuts – reportedly as much as ten billion dollars worth – when the governor unveils his formal budget proposal on Monday at the State Capitol.
