Someone in state gummint didn’t do his (or her?) sums right, which means state budget cuts will have to go deeper than previously thought:
By Mike Fitts
mfitts@scbiznews.com
Published April 14, 2010The state budget for the current and next year must be cut by almost $60 million because of an accounting error.
The state Board of Economic Advisors disclosed Wednesday that the money had erroneously been counted as part of the state’s general fund. According to a special proviso in last year’s budget, the money should have been set aside in a separate fund earmarked for numerous uses.
That means that estimates of revenue were incorrect for the current year and for next year. The state closes its books for the current year June 30, so almost $60 million in new cuts must be found with less than three months left to go. It also means a further cut to the $5 billion budget the S.C. Senate is poised to debate….
Whatever the reason, the error means that new budget cuts must come at a time when state revenues for the current year are actually close to what was projected, BEA Chairman John S. Rainey said.
The state’s economy seems to have leveled off, Rainey said.
“We do believe we’re bumping along on the bottom,” Rainey said. The economic evidence implies that unemployment will remain stubbornly high for months to come, he said.
Thanks for the head-up on that, Mike!
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Well, we don’t score so high in science and math around here, so what do you expect? Now we can cut education even further!