Missouri state budget
From Sunshine Review
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Missouri borrowed $150 million more from its cash reserves on October 9, 2009 bringing the total to $350 million borrowed since the start of FY 2010 on July 1, 2009 with $170 million remaining in the reserve fund. The FY 2010 budget was based on a 1% decline in revenue from FY 2009, but the state has seen a 10% decline since July 1 and a 16% drop for September 2009. FY 2009 saw an almost 7% drop from FY 2008.[1]
FY 2010 1st Quarter Revenues
- Net Individual Income Tax -10.7 %
- Net Sales & Use Tax -6.8%
- Net Corporate Income Tax -15.9%
- Total Net General Revenue -10.0%
Gov. Jay Nixon announced October 28, 2009 $204 million in additional cuts, eliminating 700 state jobs above the $430 million in cuts and freezes back in June.[2] Gov. Nixon vetoed $105 million in state spending and froze $325 million of planned allocations for FY 2010 in June of 2009.[3]
Total cuts for FY 2010 to date have been $634 million and 2,300 full-time and part-time state positions. Gov. Nixon decided against furloughs because the cost savings were not as great as eliminating positions.[4]
[edit] Budget Background
The Missouri General Assembly passed a total state budget (minus Gov. Nixon's vetoes) of $23.1 billion.[5] General Revenue makes up 1/3 ($7.8 billion) of the entire budget.[6]
FY 2010 net General Revenue was estimated to be $7.8 billion of which 66% is from individual income taxes and 24% from sales & use taxes. 33.9% of General Revenue appropriations are for K-12 education, 28.7% for human services, 13.8% for the "other" category, 12.3% for higher education, 8% for corrections and public safety, and 3.3% for elected officials, judiciary, and General Assembly. FY 2008 total budget was $20.6 billion and FY 2009 was $22.6 billion.[7]
Missouri's fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30th of the following year. In October state department agencies prepare budget requests and revenue estimates for the upcoming budget year. By the end of December the Governor reviews both the requests and the revenue estimates prior to presenting a budget recommendation to the Legislature. Both the House and the Senate review the bill, hold a series of hearings and make any necessary amendments prior to approving the budget. The Senate usually finishes their work on budget about three weeks before the Legislature adjourns at the end of April. But, all appropriations bills must be passed by the General Assembly one week before the session ends, May 8, 2009. The appropriations are then forwarded to the Governor who has line item veto power and can reduce or eliminate any amount of funding for any item in a bill before signing it into law. [8]
[edit] Budget figures
The following table provides a history of Missouri's expenditures and gross domestic product (GDP).
| Fiscal Year | Expenditures (billions) | GDP (billions) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $28.0 [9] | $176.7 [9] |
| 2001 | $30.5 [9] | $182.4 [9] |
| 2002 | $33.0 [9] | $188.4 [9] |
| 2003 | $34.3 [9] | $195.5 [9] |
| 2004 | $35.6 [9] | $204.9 [9] |
| 2005 | $37.2 [9] | $213.0 [9] |
| 2006 | $39.5 [9] | $220.1 [9] |
| 2007 | $41.9 [9] | $229.5 [9] |
| 2008 | $44.5 [9] | $239.2 [9] |
| 2009 | $47.3* [9] | $249.4* [9] |
- NOTE: The figures for FY 2009 won't be finalized until the end of the fiscal year.
- See Missouri state budget (2008-2009) for more details.
[edit] Accounting Principles
Susan Montee was elected Missouri State Auditor in November of 2006. The State Auditor's Office is Missouri's independent watchdog agency, charged with auditing approximately 200 state agencies and boards and commissions; the state court system, including 45 judicial circuits and nearly 400 municipal courts; and the 89 counties in Missouri that do not have a county auditor. The State Auditor may also be called on to audit local units of government by citizen petition. On average, 20 audits of local government entities are performed each year. Missouri's audit reports are published online.[10]
State Treasurer Clint Zweifel is the State of Missouri's Chief Financial Officer, elected in November of 2008. The State Treasurer's Office manages Missouri's annual state revenues, directs the State's banking services and manages Missouri's $3.1 billion investment portfolio.[11]
The Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA) rates Missouri “Tardy” in filing the state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) – The annual report of state and local governmental entities. IFTA rated 22 states timely, 22 states tardy, and 6 states as worst. IFTA does not consider Missouri's CAFRs, and those of the other states, to be accurate representations of the state’s financial condition because the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis does not include significant liabilities for the pension plans and for other post employment benefits, such as health care.[12] Missouri's CAFRs are published online by the Missouri Division of Accounting.[13]
The Missouri Division of Accounting is responsible for operation of the statewide accounting and payroll systems and is the custodian of the official accounting records of the state. The division prepares payments, publishes annual financial reports, administers bond sales for the Board of Fund Commissioners and Board of Public Buildings, and administers the social security coverage for state political subdivisions. Mark A. Kaiser is Director of the Division of Accounting.[14]
| Credit Rating | Fitch | Moody's | S&P |
| Missouri[15] | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
[edit] Economic Stimulus Package
Missouri is expected to receive $4 billion of the $787 billion dollar economic stimulus package.[16] According to White House officials the package is expected to create approximately 69,000 jobs. [17]
For more information on how the federal stimulus funds are being used in the state of Missouri, visit the state recovery website.
According to preliminary reports Missouri is expected to receive: [18]
- $40.3 million to fund law enforcement [19]
- $1.2 billion for Medicaid
- $753 million for overall education expenses including building renovations
- $168 million for public safety, state run colleges and renovation of public school or college facilities
- $600 million for the Department of Transportation
- $400 million for food stamps
- $225 million for special education
- $145 million for Title I Education for the Disadvantaged
- $140 million increase for recipients of Missouri Pell Grants
- $125 million for weatherization
[edit] Budget transparency
Missouri Accountability Portal is the name of the publicly available website created by the Missouri government. It discloses information about the Missouri government's spending, and includes data on state employee salaries, agency expenditures, and tax credit information. The Missouri Accountability Portal was created at the Executive Order of Governor Matt Blunt in July 2007.
[edit] News
The National Taxpayers Union pulled expenditure information from the Missouri Accountability Portal (MAP) and issued a press release in August 2008 detailing the discovery of more than $2.4 million of taxpayer money spent for questionable purposes over the past eight years, including purchases made at bakeries, beauty salons, bra stores, coffee shops, and picture-framing galleries, among others.
The state of Missouri spent $15,482.57 at Ann's Bra Shop from 2000 to 2008 for "professional services" and "clothing supplies." Over the same period, government employees spent more than $1.6 million at coffee shops, $387,210.14 at framing stores, $278,053.46 at florists and nurseries, and $70,849.02 at donut bakeries.
Other dubious expenditures found by NTU include $936.75 spent at The Corsage Shop, $232.00 at Doris' Beauty Shop, $1,651.27 at The Jean Shop, $348.70 at the Budget Rose Shop, $6,964.55 at Susie's Bake Shoppe, and $3,803.00 at the Westside Barber Shop. In 2000, $12.00 was spent at Ann's Hair & Nail Shop for "other professional services."
Governor Blunt responded by asking the state’s Office of Administration to review the expenditures, which found that the Ann's Bra Shop purchases were legitimate Department of Corrections expenses for special-needs products for female inmates in Missouri’s prison system. Said Governor Blunt in a statement, "This is exactly what we expected and envisioned when we created the MAP site. Transparency and openness help root out wasteful spending and we welcome this scrutiny.”[20]
[edit] Legislation
[edit] Government tools
Missouri Accountability Portal provides a database of state financial information, which is searchable by criteria such as expenditures, vendors, contracts, and employee names. The following table is helpful in evaluating the level of transparency provided by Missouri Accountability Portal:
| State Database | Searchability | Grants | Contracts | Line Item Expenditures | Dept/Agency Budgets | Public Employee Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri Accountability Portal |  | | | | | |
[edit] Limitations and Suggestions
Ed Martin speaks about Missouri's online spending portal |
National Taxpayers Union noted that "Unfortunately, MAP only goes so far in telling you what was actually behind the expenditures. Often, the spending record data will dead-end at 'professional services,' 'supplies,' or 'non-contract purchases.' While it's possible that some of these purchases are fairly innocuous, the name of the vendor alone gives reason for taxpayers to at least question the expense. The next step for MAP should be posting line-item information from purchase receipts on the spending portal. Taxpayers need to see exactly how those funds were spent."[21]
[edit] Support for creation of the database
This website was created by an executive order from Governor Matt Blunt.
[edit] Public employee salary information
The Missouri Accountability Portal provides information about state employees pay. Users can view pay information about the employees of the State of Missouri by their Agency of employment, Position Title or Employee Name. The provides gross pay amounts by the last pay cycle and year to date.
The Better Government Association offers this database of selected public payrolls. The BGA database includes salaries of employees of the State of Missouri along with the states of Illinois and Indiana.
[edit] Economic Stimulus Transparency
- The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 designated $787 billion to be spent throughout the U.S. Of that $787 billion stimulus package, it is estimated that 69%, or over $541 billion, will be administered by state governments.[22]
- Missouri will receive an estimated $2,889,357,187 [23]
- The economic recovery website to show how legislators and government officials in Missouri are spending Federal funds is available here.
[edit] See Also
Missouri taxpayer-funded lobbying
[edit] External links
- Show-Me Institute
- Americans for Prosperity, Missouri
- Missouri Accountability Portal, official website
- Office of Administration, Missouri government
- Missouri state budget, fiscal year 2009
- Missouri government spending
- Model transparency legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council is available at this link.
[edit] Additional reading
[edit] References
- ↑ St. Loius Beacon, "Missouri officials say more budget cuts coming, as state borrows more from reserves," October 9, 2009
- ↑ Associated Press, "700 jobs cut from Missouri payroll: Nixon slashes $204 million from state budget," October 29, 2009
- ↑ St. Louis Beacon, "Nixon details $105 million in cuts and another $325 million in spending restrictions," June 25, 2009
- ↑ Associated Press, "700 jobs cut from Missouri payroll: Nixon slashes $204 million from state budget," October 29, 2009
- ↑ Missouri Digital News, "The FY 2010 Budget," retrieved October 29, 2009
- ↑ The Missouri Budget Project, "Governor Announces Additional $203.7 mil in Restrictions to Balance the FY2010 Budget," October 28, 2009
- ↑ Missouri Division of Budget and Planning, "The Missouri Budget FY 2010," retrieved October 29, 2009
- ↑ St. Louis Childrens,"Missouri Budget Process," retrieved March 17,2009
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 9.19 US Government Spending,"Missouri State and Local spending," retrieved March 16,2009
- ↑ Missouri State Auditor Web site, retrieved October 29, 2009
- ↑ Missouri State Treasurer's Office Web site, retrieved October 29, 2009
- ↑ Institute for Truth in Accounting, “The Truth About Balanced Budgets—A Fifty State Study,” Page 35
- ↑ Missouri Division of Accounting Web site, retrieved October 29, 2009
- ↑ Missour Division of Accounting Web site, retrieved October 29, 2009
- ↑ State of Indiana, “State Credit Ratings-as of June 24, 2009"
- ↑ Associated Press,"Mo. lawmakers approve accounts for stimulus funds," March 10,2009
- ↑ American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,"Estimated job effect," retrieved March 17,2009
- ↑ Missourinet,"Nixon administration details stimulus impact on Missouri," February 23,2009
- ↑ St. Louis Business Journal,"Mo.,Ill. get stimulus for law enforcement," March 9,2009
- ↑ St. Louis Business Journal, "Group: $2M of Mo. taxpayer money spent on ‘questionable purposes’," August 29, 2008
- ↑ National Taxpayers Union,"Missouri Tax Dollars Spent at Beauty Salons, Bra Shops, and Donut Bakeries, Review Finds," August 29, 2008
- ↑ National Taxpayers Union, "A Letter to the Nation's Governors: Ensure Transparency and Accountability by Posting Stimulus Expenditures Online," March 10, 2009
- ↑ Wall Street Journal,"Stimulus Spending by State," March 12,2009
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