Will the GODR Survive in FY2010?
The 2010 Georgia Legislative Session recently began and those involved in mediation are wondering how the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution will fare amid state budget cuts.
Georgia legislators are constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2010. With state tax revenues down approximately 8% from last year, balancing the budget will require legislators to pare over $1 billion dollars from the state budget.
It should be obvious that making budget cuts while relatively high unemployment and a weak economy are increasing demands for state services will require tough choices. Significant funding cuts should be expected in all areas of the state budget, including funding for courts and court-related services. While attorneys, mediators and the State Bar Association, may oppose cutting the budget for courts and the Office of Dispute Resolution, the implication is endorsing disproportionate cuts in education, health care or transportation.
It is helpful to see where state revenue comes from and where it goes. Here is a snapshot of our current state revenue forecast and the allocation of spending proposed by the Governor.
The Governor’s Office recently released its proposed budget for FY 2010. (See proposal, over 400 pages long). The Governor has proposed cutting education funding only 3%, which would require greater cuts to non-education programs. Some line-items can be expected to receive better or worse treatment than the Governor is proposing as Georgia legislatures work to fine tune the Governor’s proposal into an appropriations bills.
The Governor has proposed cutting $25,909 in general funds to the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution from $196,638 to $170,729, a 13% reduction in funding. The Governor’s proposal reports that the GODR receives $172,890 in other funds (i.e. registration fees).
Significantly, although the GODR is the operating office of the Georgia Supreme Court’s Commission on Dispute Resolution, the Georgia Supreme Court and the GODR are funded separately in the state budget. The GODR is not under the Court’s financial umbrella, making it more vulnerable to budget cuts. Because the GODR charges neutrals registration fees, legislators apparently believe that the office can or should be self-supporting.
The mediation community can expect the GODR budget to be cut more by at least 13% for FY2010. The real question is whether legislators believe the GODR can carry out its laudable mission on severely limited funding or should be cut entirely to devote more funds to traditional, larger state programs. The mediation community is, at best, weakly organized. To my knowledge, there is no lobbyist for ADR. The GODR’s efforts toward self-sufficiency may result in a loss of funding while less efficient state programs are perceived to need more funding. The mediation community can expect further loss of GODR services and higher registration fees in 2010 and 2011.
