Release Date: July 6, 2010
In Midst of Budget Crunch, Dixon Transfers Half of Office Budget to General Fund
Springfield, Mo – Rep. Bob Dixon has opted to allow over half of his office budget to be transferred to the state treasury in order to help the state make ends meet. State revenues in Missouri were again down in the month of May by nearly 8% and the governor has made hundreds of million of dollars worth of withholdings from his budget. Dixon cited those realities as the reason for the decision to make spending reductions in his own office.
“For the past year families have been making tough decisions, trying to figure out what they can live with out in order to make ends meet. We need to treat our own budgets the same way,” said Dixon. “Compared to the hole we are facing, it isn’t a huge sum of money, but if every state official were to cut back on their spending, even a little bit, the state would see a large savings.”
Dixon allowed over half of his operating budget from his capitol office to be transferred into the general revenue fund on July 1st. A typical legislator’s office budget is broken down into two categories, personnel and operations. The amount in savings because of Dixon’s decision comes to a total of $5,200, about 54% of a nearly ten thousand dollar operations budget. During his time in the legislature, Dixon also has made it a practice to not be reimbursed for mileage accumulated while traveling around the district, a practice of which several legislators take advantage.
“Part of our job as legislators is to be prudent with people’s money, I take that very seriously,” said Dixon. “In tough times like these, that responsibility is magnified greatly and every dollar we save can go to help areas like job creation, crime prevention, and education.”
Dixon’s actions come in addition to reductions passed by the General Assembly during the legislative session that ended in May. During that session, the House of Representatives cut their overall budget by 5%, which translates to just over a half million dollars for the upcoming 2011 fiscal year.
Dixon is the Republican candidate for State Senate in Springfield’s 30th district. He currently serves as State Representative in the 140th district, representing eastern Springfield and Greene County. Dixon received his bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University and his master’s degree from Drury University. He has been active in numerous community organizations during his life in Springfield. Bob and his wife Amanda have three girls, Grace, Rose, and Olivia Dixon.
