Be very, very quiet...
...It's budget hunting season . . . he.he.he.he.he.
Yes, like Elmer Fudd tromping off after Buggs Bunny, Scoop has an ongoing obsession with hunting down the details of local government budgets.
That's why for us, this memo from Guilford County Budget Director J.D. Rowland is terribly exciting. It's the start of our rabbit season -- or is it duck season? In it, Rowland gives instructions to department heads on what they should and should not ask for.
Rowland lays out the two thematic problems the county budget will be dealing with this year: school and state budget cuts. Anyone who has followed a county budget in North Carolina recently will recognize those two factors.
Rowland writes: "Funding for education is still likely to be the most important budget decision that the Commissioners will make during the budget process and it obviously will affect the funding level for other county programs and services."
Ya think? More than half the county's local tax dollars go toward the school's operating budget, never mind the money the county will spend repaying school construction bonds next year.
More from the memo: "Please recognize, however, that as we proceed though the budget process you might be asked to make adjustment to your budget that could require you to make some tough choices." English translation: You can ask for what you want but don't believe you're going to get it all.
Oh, just read the whole thing for yourself. And then read our story about it in tomorrow's paper.
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