Budget Crunch Hits Maryland Department of Agriculture
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 11:33am.
Three Animal Health Labs Will Close As Result Of Cuts
Chris Torres
Staff Writer
Three animal health labs in Maryland will close and a total of seven jobs at the Maryland Department of Agriculture will be cut as part of the state’s effort to close a huge budget shortfall.
The department cut its budget by $1.13 million after getting approval from the Maryland State Board of Public Works on Wednesday.
The cost-cutting measures are part of a larger plan to close a statewide $740 million budget gap.
Gov. Martin O’Malley announced Tuesday that 200 state workers would lose their jobs as part of a deficit reduction proposal.
The state has roughly 80,000 employees.
The elimination of seven jobs at the Department of Agriculture includes five positions that are currently filled and two unfilled positions.
Three of those positions are related to the health labs.
All animal diagnostic tests in the state will now be run out of two labs in Salisbury and Frederick.
The lab in Salisbury will handle commercial poultry samples as well as non-commercial poultry samples coming from the Eastern Shore.
The lab in Frederick will support livestock sampling and evaluation for the rest of the state.
Three other labs in College Park, Centreville and Oakland will close on September 8.
In a statement released Wednesday, the department stated the labs had been operating in the red due to decreased revenue from diagnostic services, cuts in federal funding and increased costs of running the labs.
Other cost reductions include $650,000 worth of cuts to the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corportation (MARBIDCO). The program provides grants and loans to assist farmers who want to expand their facilities or businesses.
Another $45,000 was cut from the Maryland State Fair Board, which Sue Dupont, spokesperson for the department, said will likely result in cuts to fair funding throughout the state.
The board issues grants to cover the cost to run county fairs throughout the state.
The governor has projected the state will face a budget shortfall next year of around $1 billion.
Dupont said it could result in additional cuts to programs and staff.
“We don’t know, but that would be a fair assumption if the budget projections are what they say,” she said.
