Budget cuts might cost jobs

CARSON CITY -- Layoffs of state workers are possible as Gov. Jim Gibbons finalizes a budget-cutting plan to deal with a looming $285 million revenue shortfall, a spokeswoman said.

Agencies have been submitting plans for budget cuts of up to 8 percent, and Melissa Subbotin said, "In some cases, that may include reducing a certain number of positions."

In court documents filed Wednesday in response to a Reno Gazette-Journal lawsuit seeking details of the cutback plans, state Budget Director Andrew Clinger argued for secrecy by saying that many problems could develop if workers learn "prematurely" that they might lose their jobs.

Clinger said such employees "would become insecure, might opt for early retirement, might resign in favor of more secure employment, might feel betrayed or unappreciated ... and might engage in aggressive or passive aggressive behavior in the workplace."

A final decision on the plans by Gibbons is expected in early January, and until then Clinger has said the agency recommendations won't be disclosed.

However, that could change depending on outcome of the Gazette-Journal litigation. A Carson City District Court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Top Nevada Assembly Democrats on Wednesday joined in the lawsuit, saying the public needs to know what's in the plans being considered by the Republican governor.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and Ways and Means Chairman Morse Arberry of Las Vegas, joined by Ways and Means Vice Chairwoman Sheila Leslie of Reno, said the interests of those seeking access to the documents outweighs any government interest in keeping them secret.

Clinger is meeting this week with state agency directors and the governor's office to look over the plans, which started out as 5 percent cuts but then increased to 8 percent -- a move that would reduce agency spending from the state's $6.8 billion budget by $285 million. The governor also ordered a state hiring freeze.

Clinger said the increase in the reduction plans was needed based on revised projections of a revenue shortfall in the current two-year budget cycle, which runs until mid-2009.

The budget director also has said the request for cut plans doesn't mean that's what will happen. He said some agencies could end up with 8 percent reductions with others not having to cut as much.

The likelihood of the higher cuts is growing given a new report showing that key state revenue sources are down -- including levies on sales, which were down 1.5 percent in September. That tax is one of the biggest sources of revenue for the state.