The mental health system remains in near-crisis mode and still can’t serve all those in need.
This will be one of those every-other-year “short” sessions in which the General Assembly convenes in May rather than January. Be assured, the legislators will not run short of rock-hard budget issues. The outlines of another fiscal crunch have already taken shape.
Last week Gov. Beverly Perdue and others cautioned that the revenue outlook continues to be generally bleak. Perdue’s conclusion: “The state has got to shed services that are not core to our mission,” she told mayors meeting in Wilmington. “I’m going to look at consolidating pieces of state government.” Too many of us know where such consolidation often leads – layoffs. There’s talk of a $500 million gap between estimated revenues and expenses.
