Governor Dennis Daugaard delivers his final budget address tomorrow. Watch/listen live online at on South Dakota Public Broadcasting or SD.net!). Daugaard is unlikely to drop bombs on his successor the way Mike Rounds did to him back in 2010, when Rounds announced on his way out the door that his lazy accounting had left the state with over a hundred-million-dollar structural deficit that Daugaard had to fix with 10% budget cuts.
Thank goodness: (a) we don’t have federal stimulus to save any bacon, and (b) we don’t have an incoming Governor capable of hard decisions.
The most recent fiscal data show that, four the first four months of the year, we’ve taken in $3.0 million more than expected. Sales tax and our income tax on banks and insurers is up more than tobacco and severance taxes are down. Over that same period, we also spent $11.3 million less than budgeted. So if Republican patronage beneficiaries in Pierre didn’t throw themselves too many parties in November, Governor Daugaard should have at least $14.3 million in mad money to suggest fun uses for in tomorrow’s address.
Hmm… $14.3 million… that could be used to hire 350 of Kennedy Noem’s closest friends to work with her in Pierre….
Sounds like we need a property tax reduction.
this is the first time i have agreed with jason!
Let’s see how long it takes Kristi to reverse the surplus. Bets?
Sounds like there is money to more adequately fund the State’s obligations.
I am sure that given the financial insecurity caused by President Trump’s trade policies, SD wants to have a bit more on-hand for the potential fall out of markets.
Time to give Lawrence & Schiller a large no-bid contract on the way out the door to keep Daugaard’s daughter on the payroll.
Jason and Marvin,
Remember that the State gets no property tax. It is the schools, counties, cities, townships etc. who do get property tax. And they are not as flush as the State who seems to have a surplus every year.
When the State “gives” a property tax exemption, they take money out of the pocket of schools, counties and beat their chest taking the credit. They should use their own money. Why don’t we collect taxes on all properties (hospitals, churches, homeowners) and if they want to give them a break send a check from Pierre.
I like your plan Jeff.
If there is a sizable surplus, there are even bigger needs. I’m not talking wants. Needs. Infrastructure, education. Not frivolous stuff.
Good point, Jeff! Not one penny of the current $14.3M surplus came from anyone’s property tax.
One has to wonder if Mr. H’s huge $14,000,000 projected counting is using French Math or some other fancy (not Frenchy) way to extrapolate the surplus. We shall see on the ‘morrow, I recon.
Good grief, Grudz, drop the schtick and read the links. The $3M higher revenue and $11.3M lower spending come straight from state government reports.
Maybe that $14,000,000 can be used to provide higher nursing home Medicaid reimbursement rates for those residents that have exhausted their life savings.
jeff, i am aware that the property tax goes too the needs of counties.howver, some of us will be taxed for the increased costs of the pipeline proposal if the montana’s judges decision is overturned.
I read the blue links and I listened to the legislatures on the internet today. I heard them say it will end $3M lower revenue and leave $3M surplus to Ms. Noem. Not $14,000,000 but enough to hire maybe 40 or 50 of Kennedy’s friends, but not the massive growth of 350 as you calculate, which I’m sure is also inaccurate because I bet there are far more in costs for each employee when you run a business. I bet they have to pay for insurance and training and travel and all sorts of things, too. So if they had $14,000,000 they could only hire maybe 175 Kennedys and could only keep them for a short time because then those funds would be gone.