Oregon Public Broadcasting

A new report predicts that Oregon faces a decade of budget deficits -- even if the economy improves and the federal government adds more stimulus funding.

The report came Thursday from Governor Ted Kulongoski's so-called "Reset Cabinet." Chris Lehman reports.

The report makes the case for major change in state government. Without it, the report says, Oregonians can expect many more years of budget battles and chronic deficits.

The Governor's Reset Cabinet says the state is simply unable to continue providing services at present levels. Lawmakers balanced the current budget with a combination of new taxes, federal stimulus money, reserve funds and worker furloughs.

That array of one-time fixes isn't going to work again, says Kulongoski's spokeswoman Anna Richter Taylor.

Anna Richter Taylor: "So it means we really will have to fundamentally change the way we deliver services and maybe even in fact change the services that we do deliver."

Richter Taylor says the Reset Cabinet will deliver what she calls a "menu of options" to the governor in late June.

The group of advisors calls next year a critical year for Oregon's future. But any major changes would ultimately have to be made by the next crop of lawmakers and the new governor.