PHOENIX — Gov. Janet Napolitano promised Monday to try to protect a program that helps homeless veterans from budget cuts.
|
|
“But my view is we’re going to manage our way through it and still protect these services for those who deserve it the most.’’
The Veterans Administration estimates that one out of every four people in the country who are homeless are veterans.
Statewide, the National Alliance to End Homelessness figures that close to 4,000 Arizona veterans are without homes at all. And another more than 11,000 are considered to have a “severe housing cost burden.’’
“It’s unfortunate,’’ the governor said of the numbers. “And it’s not un usual around the country that a lot of the homeless are veterans.’’
Napolitano said the state Department of Housing already has a special program aimed at veterans.
“It’s not just to provide shelter but actual transitional and permanent housing for them,’’ she said. “We have put a special priority on it to move more into permanent housing.’’
The governor’s comments on Veterans Day come as both her office and state lawmakers are trying to figure out how to make mid-year corrections in the state budget.
Estimates show that Arizona will end the current fiscal year on June 30 at least $600 million in the red, if not more. That would put the state in violation of constitutional requirements for a balanced budget.
Napolitano has promised to come up with $100 million in either actual spending cuts or deferrals of expenses into the next budget year.
So far, though, she had not provided details of exactly where she plans to find those dollars.
The governor said the balance can be made up by taking $200 million from the state’s “rainy day’’ fund and borrowing $300 million for school construction rather than paying cash. GOP legislative leaders are looking at deeper spending cuts — and not simply pushing expenses back a year — with some cash from the rainy day fund.
Comments