By Melissa Walker, The Des Moines Register
Gov.
Chet Culver said today that he would make public Tuesday information on
budget cut recommendations from state department heads.
Culver
last month asked department heads to cut about $40 million from the
state’s $6.1 billion budget. The governor’s staff on Friday would not
release a list of recommended budget cuts in advance of the governor’s
decision.
“I
will have a lot to say tomorrow,” Culver said today after a speech at
the School Administrators of Iowa’s annual high school summit in Des
Moines.
He did not say why his staff would not release the
information last week or give any specifics on what would be announced
Tuesday when he speaks to the Iowa Taxpayers Association.
Culver today said the state has made progress over the past couple of
weeks to analyze areas in the budget to cut. He described the method as
a “thoughtful process.”
Last week, some groups criticized
the delay of the budget cuts, because they believed Iowans had a right
to know what state services could be cut and speak about the cuts
before they are final.
The Des Moines Register made a formal,
written request for the information last Tuesday. The governor's staff
had not officially responded Friday, nor answered questions about the
legal basis for keeping the documents secret.
The newspaper has made verbal and informal e-mail requests for the records for almost two weeks.