Governor Rick Snyder spoke to Michigan Radio’s Jennifer White about his budget proposal for fiscal year 2013.
In the proposal are some funding increases for education, public safety and infrastructure.
He says, “We had many requests, many things we wanted to look at…first it was a case of saying we got to live within our means…you have to prioritize….you just don’t give a little bit to too many things so nothing really improves. It was really to focus on key areas.”
Snyder did focus on education and says, “…the issue in our educational system is not a money issue, it’s a performance issue.”
About $12.5 million would be added to this fiscal year's early education spending with part of the state budget surplus. About $115 million would go toward early education in the next fiscal year.
Snyder also wants to add funds for a youth employment program in high crime areas.
“If someone has something to look forward to, if they are employed the likelihood of them getting into trouble or having a problem goes down dramatically.”
In the Governor’s budget proposal about $130 million would be added to the rainy day fund. He says it’s a good idea to save money in case of any economic down turn. But he’s also worried about the federal government’s own budget issues.
“It’s fairly likely they could down some unfunded mandates on us that could create extreme stress. So it’s something that we need to be thoughtful about because of both the federal budget issues and the economy to make sure we’re prepared in case there are, you know problems coming up.”
Snyder adds that arts and culture are also important for job growth in Michigan.
“It would be great to have some resources to essentially ask communities to come forward with some ideas that we might be able to help seed.”
