Saturday, October 20, 2012

State has a positive fund balance of more than $342 million

A release from the Governor's office, see the text below, outlines that the State of Wisconsin continues to have a positive fund balance. That is important to us as that could lead to a better chance of getting an increase in state aid, versus the drops that we have been enduring over the last few years.

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Building Our Rainy Day Fund

Recently, the Department of Administration released the 2012 Annual Fiscal Report, which shows we finished the fiscal year 2012 with a positive fund balance of more than $342 million. Because of this, we contributed $108.7 million to the state rainy day fund, the largest deposit in state history. It’s also the first time the state has added to the fund in two back-to-back years. This is critical, because as we’ve seen, the economy can change rapidly.

As we continue our work on the next budget, we remain committed to making the tough decisions necessary to avoid tax increases while maintaining services. Moving forward, our priorities are creating jobs, developing our workforce, investing in infrastructure, reforming government, and transforming education.

Because of our actions to control spending and hold the line on taxes while keeping government services intact, the next generation will not be buried under a mountain of economically crippling debt.

When I took office, we were facing a $3.6 billion deficit. Now, we’re making a record contribution to the rainy day fund. Anyone who writes a budget at home knows that you have to make tough decisions to stop overspending and start saving.

We’ve done that, because our decisions help foster sustained private sector economic growth and job creation, instead of double-digit tax increases, massive private sector job losses, and huge budget deficits we’ve seen in the past, so we can continue to have balanced budgets for many years to come.

The decisions we make will always be made with you, the people of Wisconsin, in mind. We are committed to running an effective and efficient government.

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