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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho wraps up tough budget year

Gov. Butch Otter discusses Idaho's budget situation at the fiscal year-end, at a press conference in his office on July 13. At center is Lt. Gov. Brad Little, and at right, Rep. Darrell Bolz, R-Caldwell. (AP Photo / The Idaho Statesman, Shawn Raecke)
Gov. Butch Otter discusses Idaho's budget situation at the fiscal year-end, at a press conference in his office on July 13. At center is Lt. Gov. Brad Little, and at right, Rep. Darrell Bolz, R-Caldwell. (AP Photo / The Idaho Statesman, Shawn Raecke)

Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how Idaho closed the books on a tough budget year today. Overall, revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30 was $86.5 million below the state's official forecast, at $2.26 billion - lower even than the $2.28 billion figure lawmakers adopted at the start of this year's legislative session. Returns of unspent money from various agencies helped make up part of the shortfall; an $8.26 million transfer from the state's permanent building fund brought Idaho to a zero balance at fiscal year-end. The transfer, Gov. Butch Otter said, "could have been a whole lot more if we wouldn’t have gone out to the state agencies earlier and said, 'If you don’t absolutely have to spend the money don’t spend it.'”



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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