[JonnydaJibba]

Nobody is safe... it's really scary. I'm crossing my fingers for us all.

Not even us state employees are safe. At least we'll still have jobs, so I'm lucky. And at least nobody will lose their job.


CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Gov. Jim Gibbons says pay cuts for state employees - including a cut in his own salary - would be a better option than layoffs to deal with a growing revenue shortfall.

The state already has cut spending by $1.2 billion and must cut another $300 million this fiscal year, but Gibbons said at an impromptu news conference that wholesale layoffs of state employees is "untenable."

The governor will meet with legislative leaders next Monday to talk about possible solutions to the immediate $300 million shortfall and to a projected shortfall of $1.5 billion in the next 2-year budget cycle, which opens in July.

Gibbons said pay reductions aren't something he could do on his own. Instead, lawmakers would have to authorize the step in a brief special session prior to the regular 2009 session which starts Feb. 2.

While Gibbons said on Friday that "nothing is off the table" in discussions on solutions, including new or increased taxes, he said Monday that he remains opposed to such levies unless they're backed by the general public or by an industry affected by a specific increase.