Gov. tours state for budget ideas

Traverse City - Early releases of prison inmates and a freeze on hiring state troopers were among the surprises Gov. Jennifer Granholm got in her first round of meetings with residents about ways to cut state spending.

Granholm is traveling statewide to solicit recommendations about where to cut $920 million in spending in order to balance the state's $38.6 billion budget for the current fiscal year.

Seventy-one invited guests met with the Democratic governor Monday night in an hour-long forum at Northwestern Michigan College.

"The biggest surprise was that people were willing to let prisoners out of jail 30 days early and eliminate hiring more state troopers," Granholm said. "I would have thought that would be one of the last things people would cut."

The governor presented 19 categories of possible areas to trim the budget and asked the audience what dollar amount of cuts they would be in favor of, Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said.

"We want to put a face on the budget deficit," Boyd said of the tour to explain the budget to Michigan residents.

However, the 19 categories of cuts suggested Monday only added up to $911 million.

"We'd still be short," Granholm said.

Audience members also suggested eliminating the Michigan Educational Assessment Program and Michigan Merit Award scholarships and scholarships for students at private colleges.

There was little support for reducing mental-health spending, aid to low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities and health care provided through Medicaid.

"Every program will get cut, but we need to make it a moral imperative to preserve the safety net," Granholm said. "I will defend those programs."

Granholm kicked off her two-week series of budget discussions with state residents earlier Monday at Alpena Community College. She was to visit the Upper Peninsula on Tuesday for a forum to be broadcast at 7 p.m. on WNMU-TV.

The multicity tour is similar to one Granholm made earlier this year when the state budget faced a $1.7 billion deficit. It is intended to both explain the state's financial woes and seek ideas for what residents want to see done.

Staff writer Brian Charlton contributed to this report.