By Alaska Legislative Digest

Legislative financial analysts say Gov. Sarah Palin’s proposal for the upcoming fiscal year 2009 state budget is $480 million above the current fiscal budget, a 13 percent increase. The governor’s Office of Management and Budget puts the increase at only $39 million, a 4 percent increase over the current year. Legislative Finance Division Director David Teal told legislators that his group doesn’t disagree with specific numbers in Palin’s budget but in how they are being presented. Some of the money considered as “savings” by the governor is more properly considered spending, Teal told House and Senate lawmakers in a briefing. Karen Rehfeld, OMB director, said her agency has no disagreement with Legislative Finance and is working with Teal’s group to reconcile different views on how the budget is presented.