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July 27, 2016

LePage budget would reportedly cut 1,500 state jobs

In a memo sent to his commissioners earlier this month, Gov. Paul LePage said that he wants to cut approximately 1,500 state employee jobs, in addition to slimming down state spending as part of an effort to lower the top income tax rate.

The memo, obtained by Maine Public Broadcasting Network, indicates that the LePage wants to reduce the number of state employees to 9,500 from about 11,000. MPBN reports that at least some of the jobs will be cut through attrition.

Also as part of the budget-writing process, LePage wants state spending to be lower than the current $6.7 billion in the 2016-17 budget. He did not specify what the budget would be.

MPBN reports that the memo says that the main motivation behind the cuts would be to reduce the top income tax rate from 7% to 5.75%. MPBN notes that the budget must be approved by the state Legislature.

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