Recent radio ads, sponsored by the Republican Party, attacking the budget passed last week by the Legislature are misleading. The record needs to be set straight.

The $250 million for education – the largest increase in education funding in more than 25 years – resulting from the Maine Municipal Association referendum in June had to be included in this budget.

The $425 million in cuts and reductions in state spending included difficult choices, including level funding for state agencies, the consolidation and streamlining of state administrative operations, the elimination of more than 65 state jobs, and reductions of $88 million in the Health and Human Services budget.

I recognize the need to control state spending while adhering to our core values of supporting the most vulnerable populations, including children at risk, the elderly and the disabled.

The borrowing solution to provide the necessary funds was crafted by a bipartisan Appropriations subcommittee, including Rep. Sawin Millett of Waterford, who stated publicly that the borrowing was fiscally sound, the type of financing used in other tough times, including 1991 when Rep. Millett was finance commissioner.

The Appropriations Committee acted responsibly in restoring funding for essential social and educational services, critical for the future of Maine and for protecting our most vulnerable citizens. The move to refinance part of the unfunded liability for the state retirement fund is similar to the refinancing many homeowners have done to take advantage of lower interest rates. This arrangement saves $340 million by accelerating the payments to the Maine State Retirement System.

The non-motorized watercraft fees – canoes, kayaks and sailboats – were included to help broaden the base of people that support the management of Maine’s wildlife beyond the people who buy hunting and fishing licenses. These funds are needed by Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for important work with non-game and endangered species, and the fees were proposed after the initial proposal for Sunday hunting in all seasons except deer season was rejected. The inclusion of such fees, while irritating to some, was seen as a way to maintain services and to have those who value Maine’s outdoors and who do not purchase fishing and hunting licenses contribute a fair share. While these fees were removed from the budget because of concerns from legislators, in the future some way of generating revenue must be found that asks those without hunting and fishing licenses, but who use Inland Fisheries and Wildlife services, to share the responsibility for wildlife management given that General Fund monies are unlikely to be available.

A vital piece for residents of the River Valley is that this budget includes funds for the Fractionation Development Center, which state Sen. Bruce Bryant and I fought very hard to include. The funding will cover operating costs for the coming year and help us move toward more substantial bond funding in the future.

The diversification of the economy of this area depends on this project and we are sorry that our colleagues, Rep. Hotham and Rep. Millett, who are on the Technology Center Board and who profess to support the project, did not vote for the budget when the Fractionation Center really needs their help.

The budget represents the lowest rate of growth in many years and is supported by a bipartisan coalition of education, social service and environmental groups. Republicans have called the process rushed – yet they left the table when 95 percent of the work was done. Towns and school districts deserve to know the amounts of state funding that they will be getting in order to complete their own budget work. The deadline of April 1 was clearly reasonable.

The bottom line is that the Republicans once again proved that they are more interested in politics than serving the needs of the people of their district.

They have resorted to exaggerations about the budget to disguise the fact they have not offered any plan of their own to close the budget gap. With the Appropriations Committee only a few million dollars apart, the Republican leaders decided to pull the plug on negotiations in order to sit on the sidelines and gripe about the governor and the Democrats rather than continue to work on finding a solution that helps constituents and the state of Maine.

This budget, while not perfect, is balanced and responsible. It has been crafted in response to the circumstances created by the June referendum calling for 55 percent of school funding to be paid by the state, the call for property tax relief and for the lowering of Maine’s overall tax rate compared to other states. This budget is in the best interest of our region and our state.

Democratic Rep. John Patrick represents Rumford.

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