/Oops! FY2017 revenue estimate off by $568M

Oops! FY2017 revenue estimate off by $568M

This announcement was made less than a month following the announcement by state financial officials that revenue for the next fiscal year would be lower for the fourth time in 40 year. According to a joint statement from Lt. Gov., the mistake was attributed to “a staff error.” Tate Reeves, House Speaker Philip Gunn. The exact impact of the error on next year’s budget of $5.8billion is not known. The Legislative Budget Office and other state officials have not released accurate allocation figures for state department. Reeves, Gunn stated that they were informed of a staff error which led to the FY2017 budget negotiations to overestimate general fund revenues by $56.8million. Lynn Fitch, the State Treasurer, has publicly criticised Reeves, Gunn, and other legislators after they passed a $250m bonds bill. She released Tuesday’s statement to address the issue. Fitch stated, “Like many Mississippians I am deeply concerned about the State’s essentially unbalanced budget that begins the new fiscal years on July 1st.” “I fully expect the credit rating agencies to be equally concerned. “I stand ready to do everything I can to preserve the state’s credit standing and shield Mississippi taxpayers against the negative consequences of the budget,” the leaders stated in the statement that the error does not affect the current fiscal-year budget which runs through June 30. Therefore, no immediate action is required. The error could cause a revenue shortfall in the next fiscal year’s budget. If this happens, lawmakers will be expected to address the issue in the next legislative session. The Tuesday announcement is part of ongoing discussions about next year’s revenue estimates. The Revenue Estimating Group announced that revenue estimates for next years were $102 million lower than originally expected on April 15, just hours prior to the FY2017 budget being considered by the state legislature. This surprise surprised many legislators and sent shockwaves through Capitol. Leaders were given 72 hours to approve individual departmental appropriations. The bill was passed in April to offset the negative projections. It would have allowed assessments and fees brought by state departments falling under the special fund category to be transferred into the general fund. The “Budget Transparency and Simplification Act” would prohibit state agencies from charging fees for services rendered to other state agencies. Gov. Phil Bryant explained to News Mississippi that the bill was likely to have led to Tuesday’s overestimation error. Bryant spoke out in reference to the bill’s passing. Bryant said that the bill was a huge, historic effort. Bryant also mentioned revenue shortfalls in his second cut of the state budget for fiscal year. Although a detailed budget breakdown has not been released for next year, many state agencies will be forced to cut back on expenditures and layoff employees to make up the budget cuts.