Tulsa World editorial: Stitt pushes toward a $2 billion reserve in a state that can't provide adequa

Tulsa World editorial: Stitt pushes toward a $2 billion reserve in a state that can’t provide adequate government services


The state’s budget accountants have wrapped up the balance sheet on fiscal year 2019, and it came with a nice gift for the state’s future.

General revenue funds came in 5.5% over the projections used to write the budget for the year that ended June 30, meaning the state had an extra $354.6 million. By law, that is deposited to the constitutional “Rainy Day” fund.

That puts the fund over $800 million, an all-time high.

Gov. Kevin Stitt says that’s not enough. Last year, at the governor’s insistence, the Legislature left unspent $200 million that was available for appropriation. In the state’s news release announcing the end-of-the-fiscal-year balances, Stitt said his goal is to build the state’s reserves to $2 billion.

There’s obvious wisdom in planning for bad times. We all remember the past decade. And if the state budget were in the right place, building a bigger reserve would be the right choice, but that’s not the case.

Read more: https://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/editorials/tulsa-world-editorial-stitt-pushes-toward-a-billion-reserve-in/article_913e43d3-3bca-5855-be8e-664dd7a17f55.html