By Tom Campbell
Wouldnât it be nice if our state elected officials worked together amicably to craft a biennial budget? One with the primary purpose of meeting needs instead of furthering political agendas. One passed in time to begin the new fiscal budget year.
For a while, in January, it looked like that might happen. The Governor, House Speaker and Senate Leader were making nice about cooperating, but that didnât last long. Governor Cooper presented his budget proposals and they immediately started collecting dust on legislative shelves. It was evident the three couldnât even agree on a target amount of spending the first year. Cooper wanted $26.6 billion. The House advocated for $26.4 and the Senate $25.5 billion.