West Virginia begins fiscal year $11M in hole after revenue collections fall short
Despite finishing strong in June, state revenue collections for the just-completed 2016-17 budget year came up short of estimates at $4.166 billion — which effectively puts the state in a hole to start the 2017-18 budget year, Nick Casey, chief of staff to Gov. Jim Justice, said Wednesday.
Casey blamed the Legislature for relying on “fake money” to balance the 2017-18 budget — a budget that became law without Justice’s signature — causing the new budget to immediately start out $11 million short, a deficit Casey said will require midyear spending cuts.
“We started the year $11 million in the hole,” said Casey, who said the Legislature had earmarked their anticipated budget surplus to help fund the Department of Health and Human Resources and volunteer fire departments.
Through a combination of spending cuts and use of about $123 million of one-time funds, including about $40 million from the state’s Rainy Day emergency reserve funds, the state General Revenue Fund carried over about a $30 million surplus into the new budget year, which began July 1.
Read more: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-politics/20170712/wv-begins-fiscal-year-11m-in-hole-after-revenue-collections-fall-short