Gov. Tom Vilsack’s proposed $108-million cut to this year’s budget has led some legislators to seek alternative solutions to the state’s budget woes.

Sen. Johnie Hammond, D-Ames, said she is in favor of finding a better solution. The budget has to be balanced, which puts the governor in a difficult position, she said.

“We know there has to be a cut, but we want a less drastic cut to be considered,” Hammond said.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said the university would welcome any relief possible from the proposed cuts.

“We are talking with as many political leaders as we can reach, seeking help in finding alternative ways to deal with the budget crises that don’t put so much weight on the regents,” Geoffroy said.

Rep. Barbara Finch, R-Ames, said the proposed cuts are excessive.

“Everyone has planned their budgets for the year, and we cannot expect the universities to absorb another large cut,” she said.

Hammond said she is concerned the universities will be forced to make irreversible decisions.

“Our particular concern is the long- term effects these cuts will have on our state universities,” she said. “Faculty are calling me and saying `why should I stay here.’ The loss of top-notch faculty is going to result in students paying more while getting less for their education.”

Rep. Jane Greimann, D-Ames, who worked with Hammond on developing the budget-cut alternatives, said she knows people at the universities who already are looking for jobs elsewhere.

Hammond and Greimann recommended the governor order a less severe across-the-board cut of about 3 percent instead of 7 percent. As the proposed cuts stand now, Hammond said, several groups, including public safety, K-12 education and Medicaid are protected from the cuts.

Right now, Iowa State’s share of the 7-percent cut in funding to the three state universities is $46.9 million.

Under the proposal developed by Hammond and Greimann, all groups on the budget would take a cut. Then in January, when the Legislature convenes, the money will be returned to those protected groups. The money would be returned by repealing some of the tax cuts passed over the last years, increasing taxes or dipping into the economic emergency fund, Hammond said.

Hammond said she is concerned the recommendations she and Greimann put together may not satisfy the serious budgetary concerns of the governor. She said Vilsack probably already has considered all the options, and he feels he has to make the cuts to balance the budget.

“The problem with encouraging a smaller across-the-board cut is that when we convene in January, we are going to have to convince the majority party [the Republicans] to repeal a tax break they voted for, agree to increase taxes or dip into the emergency fund,” Hammond said.

The solution has to come from somewhere other than the economic emergency fund, Finch said.

“We are already borrowing from the fund to fulfill our previous budget promises,” she said. “We need that money to pay our bills.”

Finch said she remembers a time in the late 1980s when the government used its emergency fund and could not deliver promised funding to the local schools, forcing schools to take out loans.

“It took several years for schools to recover from the debt they incurred,” she said. “That is why we can’t use the emergency fund to expand the budget.”

Finch said repealing taxes isn’t the answer, either.

“What taxes are you going to repeal that won’t negatively affect the already-tight Iowa family budget?” she said.

Greimann said she doesn’t understand why legislators are so reluctant to take the actions needed.

“We’ve increased taxes before in a budget crisis,” she said. “Everyone just has to realize that we are in a serious situation. I am not ready to give up on finding a solution.”