Strickland: All programs are facing cuts

By Marc Kovac | June 27, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon)

COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland isn’t providing much hope for library supporters, who have swamped his office this week in light of spending cuts they say will lead to closed libraries and reductions of services needed by citizens.

In a letter posted Friday by the Democratic officeholder through the social networking site Twitter, the governor wrote that all state government programs are facing comparable cuts.

“My framework to balance the state budget includes a reduction in state aid to libraries in order to minimize the impact of $2.43 billion in spending reductions that will impact services for our most vulnerable, especially children, the elderly and disabled,” Strickland wrote.

He added, “Without doubt, what I have outlined requires tough choices. Many of the services that Ohioans have come to rely on will have to be reduced, and some suspended. This is not because those services are not worthy. It is because state government has to prioritize limited resources to make it through this recession.”

Strickland and legislative leaders in the Ohio House and Senate are negotiating the final details of a biennial budget that they hope to have in place early next week.

As part of that process, the governor is backing a plan to add slot machines at the state’s seven horse-racing tracks to generate some revenue, plus more than $2 billion in other cuts.

The latter includes reductions to public library funding that prompted thousands of Ohioans to send e-mails and make phone calls to the governor and lawmakers.

Strickland spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said the office, as of the end of the day Thursday, had received 2,580 calls on the budget, “and the majority of those calls were [library related].” The office receives about 150 calls on an average day.

In his letter to library supporters, Strickland acknowledged the importance of services libraries provide but said “all Ohioans are making shared sacrifices” as part of the budget crunch.

“I am committed to the goal and vision of our libraries and the services they provide,” he wrote. “During these difficult economic times, it is important that our libraries remain a haven for individuals to gather and utilize resources. That’s why my framework commits $531 million in funding for our libraries over the next biennium.”

mkovac@dixcom.com