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Doug Burgum on Budget & Economy
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Increased teacher & state employee pay without raising taxes
Working with our legislative partners, you can see from 2016 to the current thing, we've reduced the general fund budget by over $1 billion. In that same timeframe we've increased teacher and state employee pay, we've made key
infrastructure investments, we've reduced property taxes and we've done all of this without raising taxes. And so with great collaboration, we've been able to stabilize the state's finances and begin building our reserves.
Source: 2020 North Dakota State of the State address
, Jan 29, 2020
Right-size government: cutting $1.2B is a great start
Burgum said he and the Legislature share many of the same goals, most notably the desire to balance the budget and fund priorities without raising taxes.The budget proposal presented to lawmakers by Gov. Jack Dalrymple before he left office last
month would reduce general fund spending by about $1.2 billion in the 2017-19 biennium, which Burgum called "a great start."
"But given the revenue uncertainty, we must dig deeper," Burgum said. "Right now is the time to right-size government."
"When I took office 19 days ago, I challenged our cabinet members to spend less time defending institutions and more time reinventing them. They're responding with enthusiasm for this quest," he said.
The governor called for zero-based budgeting starting in the next full budget cycle in order to focus spending on areas with the highest returns. He said the state needs to examine its revenue forecasting system.
Source: Press release on 2017 North Dakota State of the State speech
, Feb 8, 2017
Page last updated: Jun 27, 2020
