Gov. Gary Herbert’s proposed 2017 budget focuses on law enforcement, education

Photo illustration: Richard Trelles

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 7, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Gov. Gary Herbert on Wednesday described his proposed $16.1 billion state budget he plans to present to the Legislature as “balanced.”

His plan includes no income tax increases for the budget year beginning July 1, and does call for government agencies to increase their efficiency and “live within our means.”

Revenue collected from new sources, which Herbert estimates at about $287 million, should be “invested” in law enforcement and public safety agencies, and in education, he said.

Highlights of Herbert’s budget, which could undergo multiple changes in the Legislature, included:

• $7.6 million to improve salaries at correctional institutions, to help curb turnover. More than 60 percent of Utah’s correctional officers have five years or fewer on duty.

• $1.5 million to improve pay for Utah Highway Patrol troopers.

• $1 million for the purchase of new public safety equipment, to include body cameras.

• $750,000 for crime labs and evidence management, to go to things including the processing of backlogged rape kits.

• $654,000 for the Board of Pardons, to better keep track of parolees and to modernize the records system, which currently uses a paper system which limits information available and the sharing of data.

Herbert said about 80 percent of his proposed budget — nearly $260 million — would be focused on public schools and higher education.

Among the other budget requests are:

• $9.5 million in one-time funds for teacher supplies.

• It will also shift sales tax revenue—$10 million in Fiscal Year 2017 and $50 million over the next 5 years—to pay for early education intervention for at-risk children.

Among his goals is to raise per-student spending by 4 percent. Utah currently ranks last in the nation in per-student spending.

Additional budget items target issues including water management and air quality.

Sources for the budget money include the general fund; sales and use tax; beer, cigarette and tobacco taxes; state liquor store profits; insurance premiums; investment income; and corporate tax, among other revenue streams.

To read more about Herbert’s proposed budget, click here.

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