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From the Associated Press

Finance chiefs oppose budget
 

March 27, 2004

Two former state finance commissioners -- one who served under a Republican and one under a Democrat -- testified Friday that the state's fiscal woes were far from over and urged legislators not to back Gov. Tim Pawlenty's budget plan.

"If you follow the governor's or House plan, we'll still spend $1.4 million a day more than we'll collect in revenue," said John Gunyou, who served under Republican Gov. Arne Carlson. "I implore you to think about the next generation instead of the next election."

He and Jay Kiedrowski, who held the same position under DFL Gov. Rudy Perpich, said the recent move from including inflation in the state's revenue forecasts tends to obscure the full scope of the problem.

The pair said the state also has used too many shifts and gimmicks in recent years to balance the budget, and that will cause trouble later.

"What we're saying is we've got a structural budget deficit that's being ignored," Kiedrowski told the joint Senate Tax Committee and Finance Committee.

They said legislators should erase the $160 million deficit this year either by raising taxes, permanently cutting spending or doing some of both.

Shifting money from one part of the budget to another does little to solve the ongoing shortfall, they said.

Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, said the Legislature did the best it could during tough financial times. "These were extraordinary circumstances that called for extraordinary measures," she said.

Associated Press