Pinching pennies put 2010 in black
Mississippi finished the 2010 fiscal year Wednesday with a $54 million shortfall in June’s tax collections, but Gov. Haley Barbour’s $466 million worth of spending cuts throughout the year leave the state with a surplus as the 2011 fiscal year begins today.
Overall, the state’s revenue collections were $405.4 million — or about 8.3 percent — lower than expected for 2010.
Amidst the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, Barbour trimmed state spending in the 2009 fiscal year. But it wasn’t enough, forcing him to take $20 million from the state’s rainy day fund to balance the budget as required by the state constitution.
Commercial Appeal
7/1/10