Oregon Public Broadcasting

The first of eight public hearings on possible Oregon budget cuts drew an overflow crowd in Lincoln City  Monday night.

Members of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee listened as people voiced their support for funding everything from community colleges to mental health treatment.

David Hampton is manages some private forest land in the Oregon Coast Range.  He warned lawmakers against cutting the Oregon Department of Forestry so deeply, it couldn’t do its job.

David Hampton: “You could cut your work days, make it (a) four-day work week, something like that.  I mean, we’ve gotta get creative here and figure out how to deal with these issues.  You have to think about this in terms of how to be a business and how to run this thing more effectively.”

The hearings come as Oregon lawmakers consider ways to plug a budget deficit that many are expecting to exceed $4 billion.

The next hearing is Tuesday evening in Portland.