another Joint Fiscal meeting

I attended the Legislative Joint Fiscal Committee yesterday at the statehouse and heard update reports on the state's fiscal health from the Chief Fiscal Officer Steve Klein and from Commissioner of Finance Jimmy Reardon.

Preliminary revenue results show that August tax collections are tracking closely or slightly below targets set in July. The General Fund is slightly above targets overall. The Transportation Fund revenues are below target in most areas, not counting the new tax based on price. The new gas tax revenue goes into a special fund designated f or repairs. The Education Fund is on target.

Several specific areas of concern were presented to the Committee. There may be a need to transfer $40,000 from the General Fund for use in the state's Emergency Relief Assistance fund. There is continuing concern over increasing Corrections costs, since the number of Vermont inmates housed in out of state prisons has increased beyond projections and the number of women who are incarcerated has increased. Personal income tax receipts continue to lag below earlier projections. These taxes were above projections in July but are down for August. When we receive the quarterly payment reports from September, we’ll have a better picture as to what is happening with personal income. Personal income tax is especially important to watch because it reflects how many people are working and how much income is flowing within the state.

The ongoing negotiations between the administration and the State Employees union to reduce outflow by $7.4 million is a focus of attention for both the administration and members of the Joint Fiscal Committee. Commissioner Reardon reported at length on these talks and heard views from the Committee members. These talks are difficult but agreement needs to happen.

And there is always the concern over additional downgrades to revenue projection. There may be need for an additional downgrade in November. As for right now, we seem to be hanging on by our fingernails.

For more information contact me at cbranagan@leg.state.vt.us. I want to hear from you.

Representative Carolyn Branagan
Franklin-1, Fairfax/Georgia
Vermont House of Representatives