Governor Jack Markell outlines his three part proposal for spending the $320 million dollars in additional revenue the state has for Fiscal Year 2012. The plan includes spending on infrastructure, tax and debt reduction and education initiatives.
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Full text of Governor Jack Markell’s weekly message:
Just like families at kitchen tables across Delaware, our state has had to make a series of tough choices the last few years to keep our budget balanced.
And just like those families, we’ve had to make clear what matters most – for us, it’s getting those families back to work if they need it and ensuring their kids have a better shot at success.
Because our economy has shown some signs of recovery, we have seen some increases in some sources of state revenue.
This week, I proposed a three-part jobs proposal called Building Delaware’s Future Now that views those funds as a one-time chance to invest responsibly in our state’s core priorities of increasing jobs, opportunity and education.
The first part of the proposal puts people directly to work rebuilding some of Delaware’s eroding assets and rehabbing affordable homes.
Through a New Jobs Infrastructure Fund and additional support for our transportation trust fund, it gives us a better chance to attract new companies to Delaware and support major expansions at existing employers.
The second part of Building Delaware’s Future Now takes the opportunity to make responsible reductions in taxes and our state debt. In addition to lowering income taxes, we focus on reducing rates for some of our state’s core employers – small businesses, finance and manufacturing. And we give them incentives to help grow while lowering their long-term energy costs.
We are also working to reduce our state’s debt, putting people to work on some capital projects paid for in cash instead of bonds.
The third part of the plan makes clear that education is critical to improving our economic future. With so much already invested in improving our public schools, the plan targets investments to help kids arrive for their first day of public school more ready to learn and supports new efforts to help graduates succeed in work and college.
That means dedicating money to improving the quality of our state’s early childhood education. It also means putting Delawareans to work now to expand research and job training facilities at our three publicly funded universities.
Building Delaware’s Future Now means ensuring financially responsible budgeting for the future.
It means making responsible and targeted investments in jobs, opportunity and education, investments that maintain our financial security while keeping Delaware, moving forward.