OFFICE CLOSED
The MMA office will be closed for the remainder of the day on Friday, August 8 starting at 11:30 a.m. MMA will be holding its annual staff appreciation day luncheon that afternoon.
MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE
The 63rd New England Management Institute will be held August 20-21 in Bar Harbor at the Atlantic Oakes.
For more information on the Institute, contact MMA’s Affiliate Services office at 1-800-452-8786.
ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSING
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection will soon publish and distribute to municipalities a brochure entitled, “State Environmental Licensing: A Citizen’s Guide to Participation”. This brochure describes how Maine citizens and local communities can be involved in the licensing process, and where to get further information. It’s intended to be made available in town offices to anyone interested in how the DEP licenses facilities, such as air emissions sources, and activities such as land development near protected resources.
STATE FINANCES WEAKEN
A fiscal survey of states by the National Governors Association and National Association of State Budget Officers released in mid-June points to the national housing slump and high energy prices as key factors that will make fiscal 2009 a tough year for state governments.
The survey confirmed weakening of state finances. General fund spending among states is projected to rise 1 percent in fiscal 2009, compared to 6.7 percent in an average year. This is the third-lowest spending increase in the last 31 years, the associations said.
Moreover, 18 states in fiscal 2009, which began July 1 for all but four states, are predicting negative budget growth, meaning a state spends less in the coming fiscal year than they have spent in the current year. That compares to four states in 2008.
“Fiscal 2009 could prove to be more troublesome than fiscal 2008,” said the report.
For many states, the report said, revenues began to weaken in fiscal 2008. Revenues from sales, personal income, corporate income and other taxes and fees are below expectations in 20 states in 2009, compared to a year ago when eight states said their collections were less than they had expected. Sales and corporate taxes have taken the largest hit, the report said.
Not all states are having financial trouble. About a dozen states in oil- and gas-producing or agriculture areas are benefiting from high energy and commodity prices. West Virginia’s revenues are up 14 percent this year, for example. (Information for this article was taken from a June 19 Stateline.org article, written by Stephen C. Fehr)