The city is short by $31 million for the fiscal year ending next month. Tapping reserves will make balancing next year’s budget that much harder.
Trade wars, federal aid cutbacks and IRS layoffs will all have an impact on revenues, though the shocks may not be as bad as some fear. Still, for most jurisdictions budget and staffing freezes or cuts lie ahead. But for now leaders should resist the temptation to raid rainy day funds.
The program has grown far beyond its original target populations. Congress needs to pare it back.
Proposals to cut Medicaid will not only end coverage for millions but undermine the health-care system as a whole.
The median balance increased by 7 percent last year, a big comedown from 31 percent growth in 2023. Still, half the states could operate solely on rainy-day accounts for longer periods of time.
Making tips tax-free would not only lower revenues but distort the tax code.
With the state facing a shortfall, the move is expected to save $20 million.
Much has been said about the health consequences of severe Medicaid cuts. A new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund considers the jobs and revenue that states could lose.
The state faces a severe shortfall, but a proposed package would raise or shift $1 billion in taxes to secure funding for various projects.
If Congress reduces matching funds for the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, many states would suddenly face $2 billion shortfalls apiece.
A new forecast anticipates the state seeing nearly $1 billion less in revenue than projected as recently as November, bringing the expected four-year shortfall to $15 billion.
Trust in local government has declined in recent years. Liberty Lake, Wash., has found ways to assure residents their voices will be heard.
The city had to reshuffle more than $50 million to address the unexpected shortfall, driven by overtime costs due to staffing shortages. The Fire Department alone needed an injection of $33 million to pay for unexpected overtime.
Austin, Dallas, Houston and others face shortfalls. An analysis of the nation’s 75 biggest cities found that 54 are short of funds with a collective $300 billion in debt.
In his final budget proposal, Democrat Phil Murphy calls for replacing old and unreliable buses and rail cars.
Many states, particularly Republican-led ones, are feeling pressure to align their legislative priorities with the presidential administration. But states are facing new financial constraints after years of revenue growth.
Most Read
