“It’ll be tight,” said Charlie Lorensen, who most recently worked as the state’s Secretary of Tax and Revenue. “I don’t think anyone expects upside surprises in the revenue stream for the state of West Virginia
Monday was the first day of the new fiscal year in West Virginia
“The revenue estimates for this current fiscal year, now 2014, were basically flat, actually a little less than the revenue estimates for the year just concluded,” said Lorensen. “So we’ve already aligned that.”
Back on Friday, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin issued an executive order to cut more than $17 million from the Medicaid budget in the final days of the 2012-2013 fiscal year to make up for revenue collections that were still below estimates.
Under state law, the state had to close out the former fiscal year on June 30th with a balanced budget.
State officials have said a struggling coal industry and continued low prices for natural gas are the key contributors to revenue collections finishing below estimates for each of the past 12 months.
Lorensen said the cut to Medicaid was just one step that was taken to meet the balanced budget requirement.
“This was the last action in connection with that to try to make sure that we true up our books and to make it balanced,” he said.
In March, the Legislature cut $28 million in state spending and the state spent $45 million in emergency funds to pay state income tax refunds. A state hiring freeze that had been in place was lifted Monday.
