Nebraska state employees are being ordered to take two unpaid furlough days to help close a budget shortfall of more than $70-million. Regent Chuck Hassebrook says the furloughs and other possible cuts will be felt in the University of Nebraska system.
“We’ll see impacts and we’re girding for them, whether we do a layoff or not, I don’t know,” Hassebrook says. “As always, when resources are limited, and they’re always limited, you’ve gotta’ set priorities and decide what’s important and invest in the areas that are most important and let some other things go.”
While the budgets will be written on each of the campuses, Hassebrook says the Regents will be involved. With a budget deficit that could be as large as $300-million next year, Hassebrook says there is the potential for real damage to the universities.
“It’s going to be some heavy lifting to deal with that,” he says. “I worry and a lot of people worry about the impact that’s going to have on how well we’re going to be able to fill all of the critical roles we need to fill in the state but we’re going to have to find a way to get through it.”
Governor Dave Heineman says the furloughs are necessary because of a drop in state sales tax revenues.
Thanks to Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton
