Area residents will get their first local chance to weigh in on the state's budget crisis today.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm will appear on special programs on Michigan Government Television and Michigan Public Radio to discuss the $920 million budget deficit as she surveys the state looking for ways residents want to adjust the budget.
The Michigan Government Television show will start at 10 a.m., when Granholm will discuss the budget with Bill Trevarthen, executive director of the station. It can be seen on channel 13, and 23 off campus, on Comcast cable.
Granholm will then take phone calls from listeners on Michigan Public Radio at noon with host Matt Ferguson on WKAR-AM 870 in East Lansing.
The two stops are part of a statewide tour that Granholm is using to collect input from residents on where she should make cuts in the budget.
Granholm used the tour last winter when the state was facing a $1.7 billion shortfall and says that the input she heard on the road helped her form her executive order.
Granholm can make cuts to the $38.6 billion state budget that funds higher education, K-12 public schools, local government, Medicare, economic development and corrections. She also can decide to increase revenues by raising taxes or fees.
Granholm also will be back in the area for a budget stop at 7 p.m. Thursday on WILX in Lansing to finish the 11-stop tour before submitting her executive order in December.
