The Register's Editorial

Has the state of Iowa been frittering away millions of tax dollars under the leadership of Gov. Terry Branstrad and his successor, Kim Reynolds?

You might think so, judging by the way Reynolds and other state officials describe the impact of deep budget cuts as the state struggles to balance its budget for the just-completed fiscal year.

A few months ago, the Iowa Legislature approved $118 million in budget cuts, then agreed to withdraw $131 million from the state's cash reserves to fill a budgetary hole that seemed to be constantly growing in size. But state revenues continued to fall short of expectations, and so, despite the actions already taken, the budget now appears to be $97 million in the red.

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Reynolds can make up only half of that by dipping back into the state reserves. The rest of the imbalance will likely have to be wiped out through additional spending cuts.

"The bottom line is that there will be continuity of government and Iowans will experience no change," Reynolds has said.

No change? Can the state actually cut $170 million in spending, while raiding cash reserves that have to be replenished, with Iowans experiencing no change in government service?

No, it cannot. There is not anywhere near that much fat in the state budget.

Reynolds is fully aware of this fact because the executive branch agencies under her leadership are already slashing services to Iowans due to funding reductions. Those cuts come in the wake of a long, steady erosion of state staffing and funding that is a direct result of the Branstad-Reynolds administration’s approach to governing.

For example, the Iowa Department of Public Health has seen its overall budget reduced by almost 14 percent since last year. As the Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel recently reported, the department absorbed $2 million worth of cuts in the 2016-17 budget year, and lawmakers then cut $4.4 million from the agency’s 2017-18 budget while ordering department officials to use their discretion to cut $1.3 million more.

Now the department’s hearing aid and audiological services program has been shut down due to a $156,000 cut in state funding. This program was set up to provide Iowa children with hearing aids, which can cost up to $2,500 and often aren’t covered by insurance. Last year, the program helped 133 families.

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The state also zeroed out its contributions to the Iowa Regional Autism Assistance Program, which assists families in early identification of children at risk for autism and steers families to more comprehensive diagnostic services, care coordination and family-to-family support groups.

Last month, in responding to the budget cuts, University of Iowa Hospitals’ director of health policy, Jennifer Harbinson, wrote to state lawmakers and warned that “these cuts will impact Iowans with disabilities, autism, cancer and diseases.”

And yet Gov. Reynolds claims the yet to be identified spending cuts, which will come on top of those already announced, will result in no change of services for Iowans.

At the same time, spokesmen for some of the agency heads who serve at the pleasure of the governor are parroting that claim. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, for example, has imposed a $1.2 million budget cut by eliminating the position of state geologist, shuttering its Bureau of Forestry and terminating a program for parks improvement.

Officially, however, the department claims none of these cuts will affect Iowans. “There will be absolutely no impact on the services to the general public or any other agencies that they work with,” DNR spokesman Alex Murphy says. “Cities and counties and other entities will not see any impact of this.”

That claim doesn’t come close to passing the laugh test. Rather than advocate for the DNR and its mission, Murphy seems to be more interested in providing the governor with political cover.

For years, the condition of Iowa’s state parks has been spiraling downward, as campers, hikers and other visitors can readily attest. Now the DNR is eliminating its Trail Crew program, which has used two full-time DNR employees, working in conjunction with a team of federally paid AmeriCorps workers, to develop and maintain trails and other amenities in the parks. Now the Trail Crew program is toast.

To be fair, Reynolds doesn’t have much choice but to make even more cuts in spending to balance the 2016-17 budget. But her first order of business should be to acknowledge the impact of the cuts already made — not just to state lawmakers who may be called back to Des Moines for a special session, but to the people of Iowa.

The governor can’t continue to insist that million-dollar spending cuts have zero impact on state services. If she does, she'll lose any credibility she now has with voters. Either that or the public will believe her and demand to know why the state has been spending millions on programs that have no impact on their quality of life.