Patrick announces midyear budget cuts

Officials aim to trim $350m in spending

With concern growing about the state's financial outlook, Governor Deval Patrick announced midyear budget cuts yesterday and asked department heads to brainstorm other ways to trim their spending.

"We really are unsure what will happen to revenues for the remainder of the fiscal year," said Leslie Kirwan, secretary of administration and finance. "Doing this is a reflection of caution, as much as the uncertainty we are facing with storm clouds on the horizon."

Administration officials believe they can save $200 million by using various tactics, including tightening controls on spending and not filling job vacancies.

Another $150 million in reductions could come through so-called 9C cuts, which allow the governor to eliminate programs. Kirwan said there are no plans to make the 9C cuts, but department heads are being asked to prepare for them in case budget conditions worsen.

Revenue projections have been coming in higher than expected, despite widespread worry about the faltering national economy.

But state budget watchers warn that the picture won't be clear until the end of April, when the bulk of residents' state income tax returns are filed.

In the meantime, several higher-than-expected costs are straining the state budget.

Enrollments in the state-subsidized healthcare program, for example, continue to far outpace projections. The state expected to sign up 136,000 residents for Commonwealth Care, which would have cost $472 million, Kirwan said.

Instead, nearly 180,000 residents are expected to join the program this year, with costs rising as high as $650 million.

Snow- and iceremoval costs also hit a record high this year, $105 million, three times the cost last year.

The budget cuts announced by the administration yesterday would apply to the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, but debate will soon turn to next year's budget, which begins July 1.

Patrick submitted a $28.2 billion budget proposal in January that avoided large-scale cuts and included several spending initiatives and money-generating proposals, including $124 million from his ill-fated plan to license three casinos, a proposal that the House killed two weeks ago.

Two months ago, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi sketched out a set of budget priorities, ignoring the governor's use of projected casino revenues.

The Senate has not yet filed its budget proposal.

Senator Richard R. Tisei, the minority leader, called yesterday for Patrick to resubmit his budget, because it is unbalanced without the casino revenue. He cited state law that requires the governor to make amendments if funding projections change.

"I . . . am deeply troubled by your insistence to rely on speculative revenues in your budget recommendations," Tisei wrote in a letter sent to the governor yesterday.

Patrick aides said the governor had no intention of revising his budget.

"We are not planning to file an amended budget," spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said.

"We don't believe we are required to," she said. "We put forward our proposal, and we look forward to working with the Legislature on theirs."

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.