Highlights of Gov. McCrory's Budget
-1,800 additional classroom teachers and $2.7 million to craft a new branding strategy to lure companies to the state. Another 5,000 at risk 4-year-olds would be able to get into pre-kindergarten programs, at a cost of $9 million a year.
-State agencies will see their budgets cut 1 percent to 3 percent from the current year’s $20.2 billion spending plan, leading to some jobs cuts and the elimination of longtime state interest.
-His two-year budget, which calls for spending $20.6 billion per year, proposes:
• Giving state retirees a 1 percent cost of living adjustment for pensions • Adding money to provide Saturday service at 30 Division of Motor Vehicles offices to improve service • Eliminate the estate tax at a cost of $109 million over two years • Close four historic sites across the state and eliminate 12 jobs • Provide $10 million to compensate victims of the state’s defunct sterilization program, a small portion of what advocates say is needed • Allocates $300 million to renovate and repair dilapidated state buildings • Close six state prisons, including five in eastern North Carolina, citing a decline in the state’s prison population. Putting aside another $600 million in reserves, McCrory said his plan is fiscally responsible and doesn’t use one-time money to balance the budget |
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