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By DON DEL ROSSO Richmond Bureau Chief • For every tax dollar in the state coffers, it seems that somebody or a special interest group has an idea about how to spend it. This seems true in most budget years, but • ' -perhaps especially so during the 1988 General Assembly when Virginia lawmakers will carve up a record $20 billion biennial budget. The state’s spending plan is budgeted for two-year periods. With the 1988-90 plan, Gov. ■ Gerald L. Baliles will get his first and only chance during this term to craft and implement a budget. During the next two years, the common' ■ ‘Wealth will address a raft of pressing needs that, - in some cases, will be very expensive. Significantly, however, the governor and most lawmakers agree there will be no tax in• -creases during the next two years. The governor and lawmakers will begin pro'< .posing and disposing of the flurry of budget re' Quests on Jan. 13, when the 1988 General 4 Assembly sessioh opens. Baliles has resisted talking in specifics about' his budget, which he will present to the General ..•^Assembly on opening day. But he has indicated that upgrading the state’s beleaguered mental health system proba‘ bly will be a top priority and most agree that it’s time the system get its share of the revenue pie.
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