State-Journal.com - State agencies reduce spending

As part of the recently implemented 4 percent budget cuts, a number of state agencies have reduced spending on office supplies, travel, postage and Blackberries, according information provided at the request of The State Journal.

The actions are in response to a budget reduction ordered by Gov. Steve Beshear to address a $457 million revenue shortfall.

To avoid further spending cuts leaders in the House and Senate negotiated a compromise plan, which included a 30-cent tax increase on cigarettes and a 6 percent tax on alcohol.

Les Fugate, deputy assistant secretary of state, said he's the only person in the office with a Blackberry - even Secretary of State Trey Grayson gave up his. Fugate said that's reduced Blackberry-related expenses by 88 percent and saved $7,200.

Other cost-saving measures include reducing paper, printing and copy expenses by $14,000; travel by $15,000; and postage by $57,000. Fugate said sending e-mail or postcard reminders has created significant savings - a number of documents are also available online too.

"A great example is the annual report businesses have to file every year," Fugate wrote in an e-mail.

"We normally send each business the form to fill out and send back in. This year, we sent a post card telling them that they can print it off."

In a letter to staff of the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, commissioner Wayne Onkst said the agency's financial picture is "very bleak."
The KDLA has lost more than $2.6 million in funds since the 2008 fiscal year budget was enacted and Onkst said all discretionary spending has been suspended until June 30.

"Our concern at this time is being able to pay our bills through June 30," Onkst wrote.

That means no office supplies can be purchased unless they are bought with federal funds, he said. Only essential travel will be approved and Onkst asked staff to limit postage and photocopies.

"Basically, if the funding source is general funds, don't spend it," he wrote. "And even Federal funds are limited and need to be conserved."

Lisa Gross, spokesperson for the Education Cabinet, said there have been cuts for travel and equipment purchases. Fewer staff are being sent to conferences and equipment purchases are being evaluated closely, she said.

"We have curbed all our internal spending," Gross wrote in an e-mail. "It's hard to put a dollar figure on that since we did not say "we must cut these expenses by X'."

The office of Attorney General Jack Conway has been looking for ways to cut expenses and streamline operations for more than a year, according to his spokesperson, Allison Martin.

She said the agency has saved $46,000 in rent and utility costs by moving investigators to field offices.

Travel costs have been reduced by $50,000 and Martin said only the most essential travel requests are being approved for court appearances, depositions and investigations.

The Attorney General's office has also reduced mailing costs by relying more on electronic communications, she said. The agency uses e-mail to send Open Records documents and judgments to public officials and the media. A number of pamphlets and brochures are now offered online as well.

"Suffice it to say every part of our budget has been cut," Martin said.
In-state travel expenses at the Department of Agriculture have been reduced by 49 percent and out-of-state travel expenses have been reduced by 76 percent, according to spokesman Bill Clary.

"Travel requests are being looked at lot more closely - there is now an extra layer of approval," Clary said.

The department has also left approximately 55 vacancies unfilled - almost one-sixth of the entire staff, Clary said. The department has been tightening its belt for a number of years, he said.

Adjusted for inflation, the Department of Agriculture is receiving 33 percent less General Fund monies than 10 years ago, Clary said.

"We are asking our employees to be very very careful with the money they spend," he said.

According to information supplied by Crystal Pryor, chief of Legislative Affairs and Public Information Officer for the Personnel Cabinet, the Cabinet is taking the following steps to reduce spending:

>Changing the Governor's Annual EEO Conference from three days to one to reduce both travel and actual conference costs

>Developing various e-learning resources, online training modules to improve delivery of service, while minimizing travel

>Implementing a supply sharing and inventory system across the Cabinet

>Sending information electronically, while remaining secure, decreasing copy machine usage and paper, travel, and postage costs

>Cutting back copiers and have put the ones remaining on more favorable contracts

Beth Fisher, spokesperson for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said the agency has cut spending by reorganizing and reducing the number of divisions and offices from nine to seven.

Other cost-cutting measures include using videoconferencing and Webcast training to reduce travel costs and encouraging staff to carpool.

Office supply spending has been cut and equipment purchasing has been reduced, she said. Fisher also said that leases have been renegotiated and field offices have been consolidated.

Jill Midkiff, with the Governor's Office, said in the 14 months since Beshear took office there are now 2,000 fewer employees in the executive branch, the smallest number in 20 years.

"The recent budget agreement enacted by the General Assembly included an additional $150 million in cuts," she said. "These cuts coupled with the reductions made in the 2008 session represent nearly $600 million in executive branch budgetary reductions under this administration."

The governor is committed to making Kentucky state government leaner and more efficient, Midkiff said.