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7/19/2007
Everybody's budget is screwed up
Yesterday, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau compared the various budgets in a pretty straightforward manner. This is a great reference piece to print out and store next to the chair in which you read the evening paper. Yes, all sorts of important details are in the guts of the budgets from the Governor, Joint Finance, the Senate (with and without Healthy Wisconsin) and the Assembly budget. Yes, priorities in the inner workings of each budget are different – and hyperbole will abound** from all corners. But this little reference paper will hopefully help you walk through the continuous spin emanating from the governor and legislative leaders.
Notes: It seems apparent that Healthy Wisconsin will ultimately fall out of the final budget, possibly to be considered as a separate policy matter in the future. So when “Senate” is mentioned below, I’m referring to the Senate budget bill, without Healthy Wisconsin.
When I speak of “the budget,” I mean, of course, the state 2007-09 biennial budget.
Spending Increases, All Funds
The Assembly does the best job here, increasing the budget by 4.9% over the current biennium. (Isn’t that enough?) The other budgets are in the 8.3 – 9% range.
Tax and Fee Increases
Here’s where the Assembly budget shines, increasing taxes and fees by “only” $256M. The budgets of the governor, Joint Finance and Senate increase taxes and fees by $1.7B - $1.9B.
Bonding
The Assembly does by far, the best job in holding the line on borrowing. They would borrow $1.6B; the other budgets would borrow $2.7B - $3.2B.
Now, the bad news.
The Structural Deficit
All bad. The Assembly budget has the highest built-in structural deficit. All budgets are within the range of $669M to $877M.
Mandated Reserve – or Rainy Day Fund (from yesterday’s WISTAX release)
All bad. The Assembly set aside nothing in the reserve; the remaining budgets (with substantially increased tax and fee revenues) set aside $130M.
GAAP Deficit (again, from WISTAX)
All bad. WISTAX says that current legislative budgeting and spending practices suggest “that future financial statements prepared [according to GAAP] will show [GAAP] deficits larger than the current $2.15 billion.” That is huge. Geeez.
**So, listen to what’s being said and written out there. The governor blankets the state with scorched earth rhetoric – “Burn the Assembly budget, burn the Assembly Republicans!” Truth be told, the Assembly has crafted a document full of policy stuff and yes, some pork for specific municipalities here and there. But they’ve offered well-reasoned, wise and in some cases precedent-setting policy and spending choices, controlling spending and both state and property tax increases.
A friend shared that he thought the press was a bit too gullible, ready and willing to listen to – and reflect –the governor demonizing the Assembly majority. Ok, listen to the governor. But listen with a teaspoon or two of salt.
COMMENTS
Reading this, one could really appreciate the strong fiscal health the City of Appleton has maintained during sluggish economic times. This can be evidenced by the recent Moody's credit rating. It is unfortunate so much politics gets in the way of good management at the state level.
Lisa Maertz (Thu Jul 19 09:08:44 2007)
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