The Wyoming House and Senate passed their respective versions of a state budget. Both bodies feature budget cuts of roughly 6% in an effort to deal with declining revenues. Cheyenne Representative Mary Throne says she is generally satisfied with the budget cuts.
“I think the cuts we made this time for the most part were pretty prudent,” says Throne. “I think we have to be careful going forward with those cuts that are direct services to agencies. And we can’t continue to ignore the human aspect of our budget, other states are recovering and we need to have competitive salaries for our employees.”
But Throne did oppose requiring agencies to continue looking at 8% budget cuts. She says the economy is improving and future cuts may not be needed. The House and Senate will have to reach an agreement on a final budget bill to send to the Governor.