Haslam acknowledges some layoffs may be necessary

INAUGURAL EVENTS • Bill Haslam's inaugural ceremony at the state Capitol in Nashville will be aired live on PBS stations across Tennessee, including WTCI-TV in Chattanooga. The event begins at noon (EST).• Schools and businesses participating in the inaugural parade include marching bands from Howard School of Academics and Technology and the East Ridge High School JROTC and Corky Coker Cars• If you can't go and aren't watching, you may interested to know that many Tennessee museums and attractions are opening their doors today for free or reduced admission. Click here for a list of local attractions.

NASHVILLE - Republican Gov.-elect Bill Haslam on Friday stuck to previous comments that he intends to avoid "wholesale" state employee layoffs during his first year in office.

But Haslam, who assumes the governership today, isn't ruling out that at least some layoffs may be necessary. He also acknowledged that the budget plan fashioned by his predecessor, Gov. Phil Bredesen, calls for eliminating hundreds of positions beginning July 1.

"Obviously his [Bredesen's] blueprint plan calls for some of those," Haslam told reporters as he toured the inaugural stage on Legislative Plaza where he will take the oath of office. "We obviously will look at that."

He said his point in a recent Associated Press interview was "the answer's not to come in right away and say we're going to cut X thousand people. You shouldn't ever make a decision that's that serious without doing your homework first."

The Bredesen plan, which was enacted by the General Assembly, legally cut an estimated 1,660 positions. According to legislative estimates, about 680, many of them vacant, were eliminated last July. About 980 positions are slated to be cut although Bredesen provided one-time funds to prevent some 394 of those in areas involving "core services" from being cut until the 2012-13 budget year, according to legislative analysts.

Of the remaining 587 positions that are scheduled to go away July 1, it remains unclear how many remain filled or will be when crunch time comes. Haslam previously has suggested that attrition could eliminate a number of jobs. And he isn't ruling out "wholesale" cuts in future years.

Earlier this week, Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, told reporters that avoiding layoffs "may be tough to do" in the current year.

"I know through attrition you can cut some of those. But at the same time you got to cut $1 billion out of state government," Ramsey said. "There may be some state employees in jeopardy. I hate to say that."

On Friday, House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, who until this year had been Finance Committee chairman, applauded Haslam's approach but agreed that preventing additional layoffs will be difficult if more cuts to the budget are required.

"We've cut space; we've cut cars; we've cut cell phones; we've cut equipment," Fitzhugh said. "Now we're down to people."

When Haslam takes office, he will inherit a state government whose size has been cut by one-fourth since the recession began, the General Assembly's Fiscal Review Committee executive director, Jim White, recently told lawmakers.

Haslam, 52, said he is "excited" about becoming Tennessee's 49th governor.

"Really," he told reporters, "the reality of it all obviously dawns when you come here and see all this set up."

He said he and Tennessee's soon-to-be first lady, Crissy Haslam, spent their first night at the governor's mansion.

With the economy still recovering and Tennessee unemployment still hovering near double digits, Haslam said he has "been very careful" to keep inaugural events either free or, for the most part, at a reasonable per-ticket cost for state residents.

His inaugural theme is "Tennesseans -- Working Together, Moving Forward."

Friday night, there was a concert in Nashville with a $10-per-person admission fee.

"Obviously the inauguration and prayer events are free events, and none of it is being paid with taxpayer dollars," Haslam said.

This evening's Inaugural Ball costs $50 per person, although an earlier dinner is $250 per person.

Haslam late Friday afternoon completed making appointments to the state's 22 departments and major agencies, although his education and health department picks are temporary holdovers from the Bredesen administration.

Haslam's deputy and chief of staff is Claude Ramsey, who just stepped down as Hamilton County's mayor. A number of appointees are mayors and business executives.

"In the end, I like people who have been responsible for making decisions and for solving problems," Haslam said. "One of the things I've seen is it's great to have people who have a broad range of experience. In the end, I want people that had to solve the problems."

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