Being a pathological liar is a requirement for elected officials???? A year ago, Gov. Jan Brewer promised shed leave office with a structurally balanced budget. Instead, shell hand incoming Gov. Doug Ducey a budget shortfall that could top $1 billion. azcentral/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/12/01/brewer-predicts-tough-budget-cuts/19746721/ Departing Gov. Brewer will offer her own budget to remedy $1B shortfall Gov. Jan Brewer does her final turn lighting the Capitol Christmas tree. Mary Jo Pitzl/The Republic Alia Beard Rau and Mary Jo Pitzl, The Republic | azcentral 10:51 p.m. MST December 1, 2014 A year ago, Gov. Jan Brewer promised shed leave office with a structurally balanced budget. Instead, shell hand incoming Gov. Doug Ducey a budget shortfall that could top $1 billion. Brewers staff says theres no way a year ago they could have imagined how slowly Arizona would recover from the Great Recession. But they arent washing their hands of the problem. Brewer on Monday announced she will develop her own budget. Ducey can then choose to use all or parts of it, or provide something entirely his own. He is required by the state Constitution to release a budget proposal by Jan. 16. During 2013 and into this year, Brewer crisscrossed the state touting the great Arizona comeback. In the years since she has been governor, she liked to say, Arizona went from being $3 billion in the hole to having a $1 billion surplus and a rainy-day fund to help the state avoid a future economic crisis. She credited her sound fiscal leadership with helping the economy and state revenue rebound. Her staff was confident she would leave the state in the black, with a structurally balanced budget showing more ongoing revenue coming in than ongoing expenses going out. We assumed that we would keep going at a 3.5, 4 percent clip for revenue growth, which was consistent with what wed had in fiscal 13 and fiscal 12, state Budget Director John Arnold said. Then, individual income taxes went into the tank, corporate income taxes stayed way down, and TPT (sales) taxes went off a cliff. Things stopped, he said, and they still arent entirely sure why. There was a little hiccup in the economy, he said. Does it pick up again? I hope so. But we really wont know until May. According to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, Arizona faces a $520 million budget shortfall for this fiscal year and a $1 billion shortfall next fiscal year on a $9 billion budget. This includes the additional $317 million a year the courts have ordered the state to pay schools for underfunding them during the recession. The state is appealing the order. The state Constitution says the governor must produce a budget by Jan. 16. It does not specify whether that budget must come from the outgoing or incoming governor. Over the years, governors have done things differently. They will probably take my budget drafted by staff and go in there and address the issues they feel are important, Brewer said. She declined to give details on her budget, saying its a work in progress. I will tell you this, there are several things that are very protected in that budget that Ill be guarding very carefully, she said, listing education, behavioral health and the newly created Department of Child Safety. Theyre my priorities, and theyve always been my priorities, she said. In a later interview, she said that although those areas rank high on her list, it would probably be very, very difficult to avoid cutting their funding, given the states dim fiscal outlook. She also said she hopes Ducey will protect the states expanded Medicaid program, something Ducey has been skeptical about but appears willing to accept for the next two years while a generous federal match is in place. Im hopeful he will maintain the status quo on maintaining Medicaid, Brewer said. It helps the budget, and it helps vulnerable people. Brewer also offered the prospect of a Christmas gift for the states economy, saying there will be some exciting economic developments in the coming weeks. Ducey has created a budget study committee that includes Arnold and Brewers policy director, Michael Hunter, among others. The two will also help Brewer develop her proposal. Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said Ducey appreciates Brewers input. We are obviously still really in the beginning of the process on our end, he said. He wants more ideas on the table, not less. We really want a process that incorporates all the best ideas. Scarpinato said Ducey has already begun meeting with legislative leaders and Brewer. He expects those meetings to continue throughout the budget process. The process over the next several months is expected to be contentious despite the early communication. Ducey has offered few details so far on where he may be headed with cuts, but they will have to be deep. While the looming deficit isnt as large as it was when Brewer took office, the new governor and Legislature have fewer options. The tricks have been used. For example, state government in 2010 sold some of its buildings to investors for $999 million via bonds and leased them back for 20 years. Bond-holders now own the Arizona Supreme Court building, the House and Senate chambers, the Governors Office and the Arizona State Hospital, among others. Typically, governments use one-time revenue from bond sales for one-time expenses, such as major construction projects. But in this case, Arizona used it for ongoing operating expenses. On top of that, Arizona taxpayers will be paying that debt, plus $616 million in interest, for the next 16 years — long after Brewer has left office. Brewer and the Legislature during that time also borrowed against future Lottery proceeds and successfully asked voters for a temporary 1-cent-per-dollar sales-tax hike. The tax hike expired more than a year ago.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 13:41:47 +0000
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