Governor calls for budget cuts as Vermont sees revenue forecast downgrade

Vermont's revenues are not growing as fast as expected, and Gov. Peter Shumlin says he's asking state agency chiefs to recommend a round of budget cuts.

Shumlin spoke Thursday morning about the situation, hours before the he was to meet with the heads of legislative money committees to get a briefing from two economists on the state of Vermont's economy and what that likely will mean for revenues.

The governor says the state's general fund revenues now are expected to grow by about 3 percent during this fiscal year, versus the 4.8 percent growth that had been forecast earlier.

He says that will translate into $31 million in cuts in the fiscal 2015 budget, which Shumlin calls a small adjustment in a roughly $1.4 billion general fund.