Dan HarrieUtah state government ended the fiscal year with some $265 million in surplus, elected leaders announced Wednesday.
Under state budget law, $107 million will automatically go into so-called “rainy day” or reserve accounts as a buffer against down times. That leaves an additional $158 million — $150 million from state income tax and another $8 million in sales tax revenue.
The state’s fiscal year ended June 30.
“This one-time surplus revenue will help our Legislature lend short-term support to our education system for one-time expenses such as buildings," Gov. Gary Herbert said in a prepared statement. "But we still need a long-term solution to fund excellence in our classrooms.”
Automatic transfers totaling $107 million were made to reserve accounts, with $65 million of that going into the education reserve, $30 million in Medicaid reserve and $12 million into other rainy day accounts.
Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said the estimated surplus reflects "our growing economy, but we must continue to be conservative when planning the entire state budget to ensure we find the correct fiscal balance.”
Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, echoed the slow-as-you-go message. "We must remain vigilant as we plan for our future to continue investing in critical areas such as education, transportation, public safety and our rainy day fund,” Hughes said in a prepared statement.
Dan Harrie is a news editor over government and politics. He began his career at UPI, joining The Tribune in 1990 at a time when most government leaders spoke for themselves instead of through spokespeople.