Valdosta Daily Times

Local News

December 11, 2012

Deal seeks contingency plans for fiscal cliff

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal says he has asked his agency heads to come up with contingency plans if federal leaders can’t reach agreement to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.”

Deal said he’s not confident an agreement will be reached, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/U9wimM) reported.

The state expects to contribute a portion of the lost federal dollars if agreement is not reached in Washington, Deal’s spokesman Brian Robinson said. If no deal is reached, the state is planning to spend $24 million to “strategically target essential programs, such as those that represent a life or safety need for Georgians,” Robinson said.

Going over the “fiscal cliff” would mean less academic support for at-risk schoolchildren and fewer meals for low-income seniors, among other repercussions for cuts in most federal programs, the Journal-Constitution reported.

In Georgia, state agencies and local school boards are preparing for the likelihood that across-the-board cuts will go through at year’s end as part of a package of expiring policy that includes several tax increases. With just three weeks until the tax hikes and spending cuts start taking effect, it’s far from certain whether leaders in Washington can hammer out a deal.

“I am not confident at all,” Deal said in a telephone interview. “I think we very well could go into a situation where the (George W. Bush-era) tax cuts expire and we go into the first of next year with increased rates and the rest of the issues not being resolved.”

The cuts constitute a relatively small portion of Georgia’s budget, which is $19.3 billion this year.

Robinson said more details will be provided when the governor’s office releases its budget in January, and by then the state will likely have a better idea of what federal cuts are on the line.

The scheduled cuts due in January would remove $104 million from Georgia’s coffers, posing a challenge in writing the fiscal 2014 budget. Local school districts would lose out on federal grant money. Under the Budget Control Act, most non-military federal programs face an 8.3 percent cut. Much of the military is scheduled for a 9.4 percent cut.

Text Only
Local News
  • traffic.jpg Troopers prepare for Memorial Day traffic

    Georgia State troopers are preparing for patrols during the peak travel times this coming holiday weekend.

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • 130523-semi_fire001.jpg Blaze damages cars, blocks I-75

    A tractor-trailer transporting automobiles northbound on Interstate 75 Thursday morning caught fire just north of exit 5 in Lake Park.

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • VECA1.jpg VECA recognized at VSU

    Rising juniors from the Valdosta Early College Academy (VECA) were recognized at Valdosta State University Wednesday night as the first group of students to begin earning college credit while still in high school.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • 130522-disaster help second_har Businesses raise funds for Oklahoma disaster

    By now, we’ve all heard about the tragedy in Moore, Okla., a mile-wide, F5 tornado with winds of more than 200 miles per hour carved through 17 miles over a span of 50 minutes on Monday afternoon.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • N1209P63005K.jpg Southwestern State Hospital to close

    One of Thomas County’s largest employers — at more than 700 people — and a longtime regional state mental hospital will close Dec. 31.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Oklahoma Tornado_Stew.jpg Search for survivors continues

    Helmeted rescue workers raced Tuesday to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tornado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of nine children.

    May 22, 2013 3 Photos

  • 130521-bill_shenton003.jpg Curator offers arts a helping hand

    If you’ve been to the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in the past four years, you have seen the quiet art of Bill Shenton.

    May 22, 2013 2 Photos

  • swampghost1 copy.jpg Albino gators visit Wild Adventures

    Two rare albino American alligators have joined the other gators at Wild Adventures for the summer.

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • Police_Car_2 2 copy 2.jpg Officers wound man in shootout

    A Lanier County man was wounded Saturday during an exchange of gunfire with lawmen, according to a Lanier County Sheriff’s Office press release.

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • At Random - Mandy Painter04 copy.jpg Woman fights to live after cancer

    To be whole again, the desire that sometimes overwhelms chair-bound Mandy Painter, fuels the Realtor each day through walking lessons during physical therapy and it's also what could see her through a cutting-edge program in Boston, where world-class neurologists can reawaken her cerebellum and see the mother of three to her feet again.

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

Top News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Poll

What’s your best advice for graduates?

Go to college or trade school immediately.
Work for a while then seek further education.
Enter the work force.
Intern, ensure an interest is something you can do.
     View Results