Here’s a little more about House Speaker Thom Tillis’ thinking on budget cuts this year. Tillis, a Republican from Mecklenburg County, spoke with reporters Tuesday morning, and said a nearly $106 million budget surplus puts the state in a better financial position than it was two years ago when the Republicans took over the legislature.
But no matter how big the surplus, Tillis said he would expect state agencies to keep looking for ways to save money. Until now, he said, there hasn't been any incentive to do that.
As a result. He’s come up with a little game.
“What I’m trying to tell every agency in this state that I’ve met with, we’re going to play a game of finders keepers,” Tillis said. “If these agencies come forward with recommendations to run more efficiently, we’re going to find a way to let them keep those efficiencies and put them into strategic projects: repairs and renovations, whatever they want to.
“However, if we have to work to find the efficiencies, they’re probably not going to keep them. … If we are the ones who ultimately have to find it, then we can no longer trust that leader to find these things in his or her agency.”
