Posted on 11/12/2010 4:07:55 PM PST by CedarDave
New Mexico's budget crunch for the coming fiscal year could be $190 million worse than previously thought, and announcement of the bad news set off another fiery exchange between the outgoing administration of Gov. Bill Richardson and Gov.-elect Susana Martinez.
Richardson's finance secretary Dannette Burch said Thursday that Martinez and state lawmakers will face a $450 million revenue shortfall for the fiscal year, starting next July 1, just to maintain the state's current level of services.
That's a much higher number than the Legislative Finance Committee's earlier projected shortfall of $260 million.
There have already been spending cuts in Santa Fe and at colleges and public schools around the state because of recession-triggered state revenue declines.
After Burch disclosed the new shortfall estimate Thursday, Martinez accused the Richardson administration, which has less than two months left in office, of hiding budget information and playing "financial shell games."
"The revelation of a near half-billion dollar deficit is far worse than expected and confirms our suspicions that the Richardson/Denish administration has been hiding the ball all along with respect to the true budget deficit," Martinez said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
The additional $190 comes mostly from non-recurring federal money, such as the stimulus and other programs, that will expire next year. Richardson has been using this money to prop up some of his favorite programs such as the Rail Runner and has been doling out discretionary federal stimulus money to various projects instead of holding it to offset the budget deficit.
NM list PING!
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It’s Bush’s fault! Hey California only wishes their debt was in the millions instead ob BILLIONS!
Liberals, Liberals everywhere.
Richardson is a clintonoid crook.
Interesting in the timing of Richardson’s announcement - the week after the election.
Sounds like the surprise mess Corzine left Christie.
Just deport the Illegals.
Yeah, one story I saw quoted a couple of people saying something along the lines of I guess Martinez won’t be able to keep her promises not to raise taxes now, will she? Smirk, smirk.
She will if she cuts deep enough. Of course it will be the dim legislature that won’t allow that to happen.
But the NM educational establishment and other trough feeders will play this as Susana’s fault. Screw the NM EE - with results like they continue to turn out, they should be fined, not funded.
Only a 450 million dollar shortfall for NM?
You guys are doing much better than Texas.
Richardson and Martinez had a "cordial" get acquainted meeting earlier this week. The day after that, it was revealed that he is moving many of his political cronies from appointed positions to civil service positions where once established can't be touched. She has put him on notice that anyone moved after the election (Nov 3) will be found out and fired. Then he dropped the B-bomb the following day.
How can tell if a liberal is lying?
No judgement needed.
They ALWAYS lie.
Martinez should shut down Rail Runner, demolish it, and auction off the rails, ties, seats etc one at a time after a huge PR publicity campaign, and put all the proceeds into balancing the state budget.
Even if the auctions are a net loss, it would still be less expensive than continuing operations.
Martinez should ask for an independent audit of EVERYTHING right before she takes over. And have it posted on the state website and published in every newpaper in the state.
Now, by his own failures in NM, Richardson will have to move to Mexico to get work.
And SELL THE PLANE!!
I hear Dannette Burch is hot.
Check Richardson’s sock drawer. He probably stole half of that.
Too bad Richarseson didn’t take Ron Brown’s seat on that last “trade mission”.
What a lowlife dirtbag. Wish I could say I am surprised but my friends down there clued me in to his sleazy ways a long time ago.
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