The Journal Record
By Sean Murphy, Associated Press
Posted: 09:22 PM Tuesday, July 13, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma’s revenue collections plunged nearly 20 percent during the fiscal year that ended June 30, prompting deep cuts across state agencies, but state Treasurer Scott Meacham said Tuesday he believes “the worst is definitely behind us.”
Revenue figures released by Meacham’s office show collections to the state’s General Revenue Fund totaled $4.6 billion during fiscal year 2010, which ended June 30. That amount is $945 million, or 17 percent, below collections for the prior year. The sluggish collections, which included declines across all tax sectors, required agency budgets to be slashed by an average of 7.5 percent last year.
“When you say that from one year to the next your state is going to have $945 million less to spend, which is about a 17-percent reduction in your budget, that is a significant revenue event, and nothing like we’ve seen in this state since the Great Depression,” Meacham said.
With slumping revenues, lawmakers used a combination of fee hikes, deferred tax credits and further cuts to state agencies to help balance the budget for the current fiscal year that began July 1. State leaders also spent about $500 million in federal stimulus money and $277 million in cash reserves to help close the gap... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Tue, July 13, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski