State Revenue Numbers Continue Tumble

The state’s revenue numbers continue to struggle. The Governor’s office says collections for May were down more than $200 million, or 14.4%, from the same month a year ago. Bert Brantley is spokesman for Governor Perdue:

"It’s all relative...14.4% down is better than 20% down, but it’s not as good as 0% down or even an increase. This is the reason why we’ve had to cut spending...this is the reason why we’ve had additional cuts even since the Legislature has come in."

For the fiscal year set to end June 30th, collections are down 10-percent. Because of that, the state’s reserves are being tapped to make up the difference.

Meanwhile, state agencies remain under an order from Perdue to cut spending this month by 25% in order to meet a balanced budget.

"Stabilized" state revenue figures come with concern

New state revenue figures show improvement out of October. But that good news comes wrapped with strong concern for the coming months.

Georgia tax collections dipped only slightly over a year’s time, down 0.1 percent--or just over a million dollars. It follows good revenue figures out of September.

But those numbers mostly reflect the state’s economy BEFORE the bulk of the national market-meltdown struck and resulting trickle-down effect. Kenneth Heaghney is Governor Sonny Perdue’s fiscal economist:

"We’ve seen the national economy show signs of entering this significant recession, and that certainly creates concerns that Georgia will follow, and that revenues will follow as well."

Heaghney points out sectors within the construction industry had begun to moderate, but that again was before the market collapse.

The state has lost about $1.1 million dollars since the new fiscal year began July 1st. Perdue already has directed state agencies to tighten belts by six-percent, but that could increase if the economy worsens.

Georgia revenue nearly steady in October

Tax collections in Georgia were basically stable in October. New numbers from the Governor’s office show revenue was down only slightly--about 0.1 percent--over the same month last year. In cash terms, that represents a fall of only about 1.1 million dollars. However, state economic officials remain pessimistic about the immediate future of the state’s revenue streams.