OTTAWA – Area legislators say Gov. Sam Brownback needs to restore some of the steep budget cuts made to mental health services. Osawatomie State Hospital is over-capacity and under-staffed and that staffers at the hospital are putting huge amounts of required overtime and commonly working back-to-back 16-hour shifts, said Rep. Bill Feuerborn, D-Garnett. Given that the state is now getting more revenue than expected and that the state will end the state fiscal year on June 30 with a $500 million surplus, it’s time for the state to start restoring some of its cuts, he said. That’s a view echoed by other legislators. Legislators talked about the budget and illegal immigration at the most recent Ottawa legislative coffee. Some of those comments will be aired on this Sunday morning’s edition of Community Perspective at 8:04.
Friday, April 20, 4 p.m.
