Officials with the Oregon Department of Human Services are telling people who rely on its services to prepare for a potential round of budget cuts next year. Agency leaders Thursday outlined possible cost-cutting scenarios.
Oregon lawmakers are expected to face a shortfall of around $1.5 billion if they want to maintain current service levels. That would hit large agencies such as DHS especially hard.
DHS has prepared a potential list of cuts that would trim more than $320 million from its general fund budget. DHS Director Clyde Saiki told a gathering of service providers that it won't be pleasant.
"What it really comes down to is making a decision nobody wants to make,” he said. “And really, it's 'what's the best of the worst.'"
Saiki noted that lawmakers rarely make across-the-board cuts so some agencies could be more affected by budget cuts than others.
Lawmakers will craft a two-year spending plan starting next February.
Copyright 2016 Northwest News Network
