It’s January 2011 -- do you know where your state revenues are? 

Our next Governor and Legislature will face daunting challenges: a damaging recession, a still-ailing economy and the expiration of federal stimulus funding. The public infrastructure we have long taken for granted, encompassing everything from education to environmental protection, is at risk.  

Our state leaders and elected officials often turn to us, the people who make up much of that infrastructure – working within and without state and local government to provide the linkages and services that support our communities. Now is the time to equip ourselves to help them find answers to weather these challenges.  

The most important tool we have is knowledge – knowledge about the severity of the budget problems that state and local governments will face next year, and the implications for programs and services that we all care about. From that knowledge we can create solutions for today and for the future. 

You are invited to a nonpartisan budget forecast and policy forum on September 15. There will be bad news – the current state of the budget and the metaphorical winds buffeting  in the state’s service infrastructures – but working together we can create some good news – solutions.