Governor Lynch and the NH Deficit

By Jim on November 7th, 2008

I can’t wait to see what he does with this. Taxes? Fees? How do you think he’ll handle it?

In exactly two weeks, Gov. John Lynch is supposed to deliver to the Legislative Joint Fiscal Committee his plan for balancing the state budget by the end of the fiscal year, June 30. The people have two weeks to find out if Gov. Lynch will try to balance his own deficit-ridden state budget by cutting spending or by raising taxes.

Gov. Lynch projects a $250 million budget deficit this year. With October revenues $14.7 million lower than projected, the deficit is already at $71.5 million. And it’s only four months into the fiscal year.

Lynch has blamed the budget deficit on the slowing economy. That appears to be a factor in this fiscal year, the second of the two-year state budget. Revenues are not only below projections in the last few months, they are below previous levels. But in the first year of this budget, revenues were higher than in the previous year. The problem wasn’t the revenues. It was the spending, which vastly outstripped the state’s income.