Gov. Deal reveals his budget priorities
Gov. Nathan Deal plopped his 350-plus page fiscal 2018 budget on lawmakers’ desks Wednesday, and to say it is ambitious would be an understatement. We’ve already known since last September that he wanted to up state law enforcement personnel salaries by 20 percent and up their training as well. Add to that a 19 percent raise for child welfare workers and a 2 percent raise for teachers and other state employees.
Deal outlined his budget priorities in his State of the State address, but first, he took his audience back a bit to the bad old days when he first took office. The year was 2011. “Our state was still in the grip of the Great Recession,” Deal said. “Businesses were going bankrupt, homes were being foreclosed upon, jobs were being lost, our unemployment rate was 10.4 percent. Our rainy day fund was dangerously low at roughly $116 million — hardly enough to operate state government for two days.”
But, he said at the start of his address that the state followed the advice of a 1944 Johnny Mercer song, “You've got to accentuate the positive/ Eliminate the negative/ Latch on to the affirmative/ Don't mess with Mister In-Between.”
“The result: that 10.4 percent unemployment rate has dropped to 5.3 percent. Our Rainy Day Fund has increased to approximately $2.033 billion. With prudent budgeting, we have maintained a AAA bond rating. We have set new records in trade, film production and tourism.”
Deal spoke of the state’s success at working with those with addiction or behavioral disabilities using accountability courts instead of jail cells. “We have reduced the rate of recidivism and saved the taxpayers of Georgia millions of dollars, a great example of eliminating the negative. New private sector jobs have reached more than 575,000 and for four consecutive years, Georgia has been named the best state for business.”
“Why did this happen?” Deal asked. “Because we had faith and we accentuated the positive.” Now, he wants to take his foot off the brakes.
Deal wants to build a new state courthouse on the old state archives site at a cost of $105 million and $73 million for a new technical school he’ll be able to attend when he retires in his home county of Hall. All of the infrastructure projects would be paid for with a bond package. Deal wants to capitalize on a rather novel idea by building a $50 million cyberwarfare center (Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center), in partnership with state and federal agencies and the private sector, that according to the governor’s website will, “create a secure environment for cybersecurity education programs, testing and training.” While it may seem sort of Star Warsish, such a center would put Georgia on the crest of a wave that could eventually lead to a qualified workforce in a field that is only becoming more vital as our lives inevitably become more digitally oriented. The center will work in tandem with the U.S. Army’s new $2 billion cyber command headquarters at Fort Gordon.
The state has gone all in with the Georgia National Guard, Department of Defense, Georgia Technology Authority, the Technical College and University systems, the Department of Economic Development and Georgia Bureau of Investigation participating. Deal said this effort “will solidify Georgia’s reputation as the Silicon Valley of the South.”
Now that the ingredients of the governor’s budget sausage have been laid on the table, the lawmakers will get to work hacking it up. Lawmakers will be looking for a little spice for their constituents. Cyber Innovation Training Center is already slated for state-owned land in Augusta. The new technical college site has already been identified and purchased, so has the site of the state courthouse. Still there are plenty of trump cards in the governor’s hand. He will have the ability to play those cards to get the votes he needs for his budget priorities to pass.
This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Gov. Deal reveals his budget priorities."