Perdue cuts all unnecessary spending

The private luxury lear jet that took Holden and his kids to the acc tournament was paid for by the UNC Foundation. The UNC Foundation can use it's money to pay for professor's salaries, scholarships etc - instead it paid for Holden and his family to ride on the luxury lear jet probaly with free catering, (shrimp, cheese and crackers etc.)

As to the multimillion renovations - As Chancellor, Holden could have have said - maybe since we are in the worst recession in the last 70 years and teachers are getting cut, taxes are getting raised - I could hold off on spending a couple million to redo our bathrooms.

Hi salary may be in line with his peers - but all of his peers are not running the state univesrity in a state where unemployment is 13% and taxes are being raised on people making $40,000 a year much less $400,000.

I’m not sure this will work. How can an agency head/bureaucrat not make unnecessary expenditures? Aren’t unnecessary expenditures part of the job description? Isn’t it in the DNA? Asking a bureaucrat to cease unnecessary expenditures is like telling James Taylor to quit singing. It’s like trying to reverse the rotation of the earth or telling an ACORN rep to only fill out one registration card per Disney character.

Cutting unnecessary spending is a nice thought but we need to be thinking of things that are of this world. I fear for the health and well being of these bureaucrats being asked to do something against their very nature. These people have high professional standards to uphold and doing something distasteful like this is a disgrace to the brotherhood of man. Where is the union on this?

We need to look further for solutions. Have we got any more of that Confederate money lying around? Could we sue the tobacco companies again? Would the Feds pay us for our tobacco allotments again? Maybe a museum exchange with the Europeans would bring in some money.

Overspending bureaucrats are one of North Carolina's most precious resources. Let's not throw the bathwater into the aquarium!

As as retired university employee, try cuting some midle management, such as associate vice chancellors, assistant vice chancellors, etc. The universities are so top heavy it would boggle your mind!! Also, look at all the chancellor's "perks"! These would also boggle your minds!

OK mrclean, I don't know what would be worse for me while driving my state vehicle, having my retreaded tires blow out or ruining my engine because I can only have the vehicle serviced every 8000 miles, regardless of driving conditions. Doesn't matter though, with only half a tank of gas, I probably couldn't get very far anyway...

Honestly though, this order doesn't seem to be much different from what we've been doing for months now, just paying the bills and salaries. Some of us have had to pay out of pocket for things to get the job done because we can't wait afford to wait for approval.

I agree that cuts have to be made. It just seems like no one wants to make the call. Frankly, we've cut about everything except turning off the lights. And yeah, I'm a state worker and a registered Republican. We do exist.

Incompetent is saying it mildly... I know for a fact that there is so much reversed descrimination going on in this state... that brains is not the first thing they look for on a state application! As far as unnecessary spending... it means that the state can't even afford to buy paper and pens so that state agencies can operate... state employees are practically expected to buy their own supplies if the want the tools they need for work.. our state is totally rediculous!

Perdue needs to stop the pier!

Does anyone think this is serious? She has been all over the board in the past 2 weeks and seems to be now in a panic mode. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing. Operating on the present emergency plan the state is operating on a budget 15% lower than last year. This in itself saves about $2 billion dollars this year maybe more. So doing nothing actually accomplishes more than passing a new budget with an increase of $1 billion. I vote to do nothing til the end of the year, then adopt the present operating cost. By then the cuts will have been done, the budget cut, the pink slips handed out, and we will still have a bloated state government run by the same lame group as the past 40 years. Of course they will never agree to something so simple. Remember the strongest human desire is not love nor hate but the overwhelming desire to edit.

Is the retired CEO of Public Instruction/Chair of State Board, Harris retiring on the salary he made before his job was created? If he isn't going out the way he came in, that would definitely be unnecessary spending. Maybe Bev is cleaning all this up because the Big Guy (Prez) is coming to town next week. It seems like Bev Purdue the Democratic version of Sarah Palin without the glamour.

After reading most of these comments, I want to applaud you on the tax bill
as we are in very serious financil trouble all over the country, It indeed would have been outrageous to have added yet another tax burden, Its a shame you can not convince Washington to do the same I know by reading the comments you are getting it from left and right Personally I do not see an end to this Financil crisis in sight,

Quoting from above: "Under the order, agency heads must preapproval all purchase orders."

Who was approving them before? Isn't the "head" always responsible for what happens in his domain? The buck stops here?

$300,000,000 mistake..hells bells, who believes that bs.

Bev, time to put the jet ebay.

Cut spending: furlough ALL state paid employees who are eligible for retirement, ALL Easley appointees, and 20% of EVERY admin staff.

As "Official" Right-wing Extremist Apologist for Holden Thorp let me say ....

1. The plane flight to Atlanta (ACC Tourney time) was coordinated with two alumni fund-raisers. Taking his family on the plane did not involve $1 in added costs to the state or UNC.

2. The renovations to the Chancellors manse were scheduled prior to Holden's appointment as Chancellor and were part of the overall upkeep and maintenance of the facility.

3. His salary is totally in-line with his peers across the country.

If other state employees were just 10% as conscientious about expenses as Thorp and his family, this state would be much better off. I totally understand UNC-hate in general but Holden-hate is off-base.

I'm afraid I do not see any language in Bev's executive order requiring cuts "to mandatory obligations including payroll, utilities, medical supplies, financial aid, required state aid and debt service," as stated in Mr. Niolet's blog post.

On the contrary, the actual language used in Bev's executive order appears to instruct the OSBM to approve spending for each of these "mandatory obligations."

"Special exceptions" protect nearly every department in state government from spending cuts.

Bev would have the OSBM drive spending cuts, excluding:

classroom expenses
anything covered by the Federal Recovery Act
law enforcement
health care
public safety
payroll
utilities
medical supplies
financial aid

AND debt service....

The only department that would actually be required to cut spending is the Department of Environmental Resources.

The exclusion of DER from the list of "mandatory obligations" was most likely just an oversight on Bev's part....

how much did thorpe spend on "fixing up" his free house oh and one for mom n law personal groundskeeper for him and one for the pres

will she hire an 'executive' to make her orders next week

WHAT--- Just a few months ago she spent 10s of millions to purchase Chimney Rock Park and Grandfather Mt. Does anyone know how many teachers were fired to pay for these liabilities.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but shouldn't government only be spending necessary money no matter what the economy is like? The fact that there is unnecessary spending to cut is disturbing. Its much like a couple months back when the powers that be were talking about cutting unnecessary state jobs. Again, why were unnecessary state jobs created in the first place? This whole governmental thinking that sees the money citizens make as somehow being owed to the government needs to change.

Sorry fellas, registered GOP, usually vote a split ticket.
"Nodaloft" is an old email from when Noda was a cheap place to live.

nodaloft I do not know your politics but if i was playing the odds I would think you are Democrat.

No, people that buy lofts in the Charlotte transitional neighborhood NODA above wine and tofu bars are notoriously registered with the Alaska Independence Party.

Good read otherwise though Paul. Thumbs up!

Nodaloft with the most intelligent post I've ever seen on this forum.

Thank you.

Hey Wuptdo.
I am an assistant DA with 15 years experience. You suggest cutting my pay by 12% I guess because you think I am lazy and sorry (and expendable?)just because I work for the State. As far as you are concerned, I can go into private practice and you'll replace me with some kid just out of school -- only because it is cheaper. When you drive me into private practice to feed my family, I will only have one option - defending criminals - since my 15 years in the DA's office have made me an expert in one thing - criminal law. If you are the victim of a crime, will you volunteer to have the least experienced ADA in the office take me on? Will you still be prepared to do that when your family member gets raped, robbed or murdered and you want justice? I could have gone into private practice long ago to get rich and I have stayed to fight for victims. But it gets harder and harder to stay when people like you want thank me with a pay cut.

It appears someone in the administration is reading the blog.... Now Governor, line all the state employees up and start counting. All the even numbers go home!

PowderedToastMan:

You don't get it. Put down the toast and READ the article.

The order cuts spending to mandatory obligations including payroll, utilities, medical supplis(sic), financial aid, required state aid and debt service.

Financial aid and medical supplies are mandatory obligations, and have not been cut.

MUCH better, Governor. Live within your means is the right message. Thanks for leading the way to improved fiscal responsibility and showing the slower member of the legislature how to manage taxpayer money.