Missouri Gov. Kehoe suggests $ 53.7 billion budget with focus on education, security

Jefferson City, Mo. And In its opening state of the state address, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe revealed a proposed budget of $ 53.7 billion, emphasizing education and public security as key priorities.

Kehoe, Missouris 58. Governor and a former car dealer, face the challenge of meeting expanding needs with expected revenue growth of less than 2%.

Despite this, he plans to increase the basic help to Missouri schools by $ 200 million and aims to revise a two-year-old financing formula.

“We’ve invested more than four billion dollars in K-12 education, and we still don’t see acceptable results throughout the state,” Kehoe said.

“We no longer feel the formula, as currently written, assigns appropriate financing to public education.”

Public security is another major focus for Kehoe. He suggested nearly $ 13 million for a new crime laboratory in southeastern Missouri and $ 4 million to test wastewater from public schools for Fentanyl. In addition, he seeks to strengthen the ties between the state and local law enforcement authorities.

“We recommend financing to strengthen the existing Missouri Blue Scholarship program for basic reinforcement,” Kehoe said. “And we recommend $ 10 million in funding to help local communities prioritize public security with equipment and training needs through our Blue Shield program.”

Kehoe also aims to phase out the state’s income tax. Missouri Budget Director Dan Haug expressed confidence to balance expenses and tax reduction.

“I think you can do both of these things if you do them both in a responsible way,” Haug said.

For state workers, Kehoe suggested an innovative wage plan that offers a salary increase of 1% for every two years of service, up to a maximum of 10%.

“Over the past several years, we have worked a lot to get our starting salary up and try to attract people,” Haug said. “But one of the really important things is to preserve people and preserve this experience.”