Otter Cautions State Agenices Regarding Budget
Idaho Governor butch Otter is cautioning state agencies their budget plans for the next fiscal year could be trimmed after state tax revenues came in about $5.4 million below projections during the month of November. In a letter Wednesday, Otter told members of his cabinet that with the new numbers, Idaho is now running $16.2 million behind forecasts for the current fiscal year, which started in July. Otter says the possibility of a large state surplus is unlikely to play out. As recently as Dec. 1, the state was expected to end the current fiscal year with $77 million in the bank. And state agencies were already clamoring for the money, submitting $143 million in requests above their existing budgets.