Budget director offers snapshot of coming state budget process

COLUMBUS

Gov. John Kasich’s budget director offered a quick snapshot today of the coming state budget process.

There weren’t a whole lot of surprises — the economy is rebounding, expect more tax cuts but don’t think the administration is going to spend taxpayer money frivolously.

“The fiscal condition of the state is very sound, very strong,” said Tim Keen, who heads the state’s Office of Budget and Management. “We’ve come through some very difficult budget times. We are fiscally stable. We have resources. This lead to an expectation that this next budget ought to be easy, there’s money to take care of a lot of issues that folks would like to address.”

But Keen cautioned against the latter thinking, saying the administration remains committed to making government more efficient and effective. That includes a continued focus on Medicaid and efforts to revamp how the state delivers services to its neediest residents.

For the complete story, please see Friday's Vindicator or vindy.com