Martinez says layoffs are on the table

From the New Mexico Independent - By Trip Jennings - Republican Governor-elect Susana Martinez said Wednesday that layoffs of state workers isn’t her first option, but she acknowledged that the possibility isn’t off the table. “I would like not to have layoffs,” Martinez said Wednesday at an Albuquerque news conference. “People are already in furloughs in state government. We have to make sure we are providing the necessary core services and so I would never say they are off the table. Fixing New Mexico’s state budget will dominate the legislative agenda as Martinez and state lawmakers learn to work together starting in January to close a $260-million gap in the 2012 budget after the state already has cut costs and raised revenue during previous legislative sessions. Martinez made promises on the campaign trail that might prove difficult to keep. The governor-elect promised not to raise taxes in her first year at the same time she promised not to cut two of the largest areas in the state budget — public education and Medicaid, the government’s low-income health insurance program. Education and Medicaid make up 60 percent of the state budget. Martinez said Wednesday that there were 3,000 vacant state jobs around New Mexico state government. But it was unknown how much of a savings New Mexico would net from eliminating those positions because it’s unclear how many of the vacant jobs are actually funded. Read more

Martinez says layoffs are on the table