Mead recommends cuts to proposed budget

Gov. Matt Mead is proposing cuts to the state budget proposal he submitted to state legislators in December. Mead wrote to members of the Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee on Monday calling for cuts, including axing proposed pay raises for state employees and for workers at the University of Wyoming. Mead proposed a $3.4-billion state budget in December. State budget analysts this month said lower natural gas prices mean the state will likely receive $100 million less than anticipated in the 2-year budget cycle that begins next July. Sen. Phil Nicholas, a Laramie Republican, is co-chairman of the appropriations committee. He says that Mead's cuts may not go far enough. He says every recipient of a state program needs to share in the belt-tightening with state employees.