COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The state will eliminate up to 2,700 jobs, close two mental hospitals and limit other spending in an effort to reduce a projected budget deficit, Gov. Ted Strickland announced Thursday.
Strickland also issued a series of directives to limit travel, new contracts, equipment purchases and other spending categories in the face of a predicted a budget shortfall of between $733 million and $1.9 billion by June 2009, depending on how the economy fares.
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A minimum of 1,500 jobs will be lost, Strickland said, and will come from a combination of firings, early retirements and leaving open positions unfilled. The hospitals to be shuttered are in Dayton in western Ohio and Cambridge in eastern Ohio.
"I can tell you we did not arrive at this quickly or easily," Strickland said. "There have been days and nights of discussions."
Strickland said the state also plans to get $73 million from an expansion of the lottery, including some new games. The new games will involve video monitors being placed in bars around the state, and will be different from outlawed video gaming because it is "state-monitored, state-controlled and state-regulated," Strickland said.
The changes will account for the lower deficit amount, at minimum, Strickland said.
If the situation worsens, he would consider using money from the $1 billion rainy day fund, which is set aside for budget emergencies.
He said he will protect tax reforms that started in 2005, as well as the homestead tax exemption for seniors, the tuition freeze at state colleges and universities, and the expansion of children's health care that were in the budget plan that began in July.
"I believe there is benefit in having some stability within our tax structure for a period of time, and I have resisted the advice I have received from some to make changes in that tax structure," Strickland said.
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