Lower than expected revenues and higher expenditures create additional budget pressure

by Brian Leubitz

These are not exactly the figures that the Governor wanted to see right now: Disbursements exceeded projections by $2.65 Billion and revenue was $165 million below the Governor’s latest estimate from his budget proposal last week. That is $1.4 bil below the most recently passed budget. All in all, some nasty numbers.

“While we saw positive numbers in November, December’s totals failed to meet even the latest revenue projections,” said Chiang. “Coupled with higher spending tied to unrealized cost savings, these latest revenue figures create growing concern that legislative action may be needed in the near future to ensure that the State can meet its payment obligations.

With the most recent lower than expected projection for the Governor’s revenue measure, it is looking increasingly likely that there will be even more significant mid-budget cuts to services.  Cuts that will continue to fall in the lap of those who can least afford them.