$3.2 billion. That’s what the state budget deficit could grow to by 2012, state officials said. And that could mean tax increases.
Between now and then, officials say, we will have gone through the reserves and federal stimulus funds, and we’ll also have to start paying back funds borrowed to balance the current budget, they said.
In short, we’re heading into one big financial mess.
Robert Genuario, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and Geary Maher, of he Office of Fiscal Analysis, said the state’s fiscal policies are not equipped to deal with these kinds of numbers.
Revenues are falling and demands for services are rising, they said.
Because of the fiscal situation, the state has eliminated a planned half-percent sales tax decrease and there is a possibility of increasing taxes, officials said, unless the economy soon improves, unemployment is slashed and consumer confidence is restored.
