OLYMPIA… Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup and budget leader for Senate Republicans, said he appreciates the spending-reduction ideas offered by Gov. Bob Ferguson today and offered this statement in response:

“The governor has vowed to come up with spending reductions, and I appreciate that he has delivered these savings ideas less than halfway into our session. This allows budget writers to consider them while there is still time. Notably, this is a full month sooner than the former governor managed when he first took office.

“Governor Ferguson views the budget shortfall at $15 billion, which was somewhat surprising. According to non-partisan Senate budget staff, the true gap is $6.7 billion if the priority is to maintain current government levels next year. However, I understand how he arrives at this figure; it really boils down to priorities, and a prime example of that is his allocation of $4 billion for state-worker pay raises.

“Some of the cost-saving ideas, particularly the proposal for state-employee furloughs, are concerning. This plan sends a message to taxpayers: public servants will receive higher pay using $4 billion more of your tax dollars, and in return, you will receive 12 fewer days of service from them each year for two years. I doubt the people of our state will see this as a fair deal.

“Overall, if Republicans were to write a new operating budget, we would likely incorporate many of the governor’s cost-savings suggestions. However, we believe there are additional opportunities beyond what he offered today, and we would be glad to share those with the governor as we identify them. He knows, as Republicans do, that new taxes should be a last resort. We will do what we can to help him stand by that belief.”