Ken Miller: Pitfalls Exist In State’s Fiscal Forecast
Oklahoma treasurer points out state fiscal pitfalls
by Rick Green, NewsOK.com
State Treasurer Ken Miller points out five fiscal shortcomings in Oklahoma state government in his latest monthly report.
Specifically, he said the state has balanced the budget with one-time fixes, sometimes ignored the long-term consequences of a deal, misapplied a temporary windfall, shortchanged pension obligations and ignored financial checks and balances.
Preston Doerflinger, Gov. Mary Fallin’s secretary of finance, administration and information technology, said Miller’s criticisms are well-founded.
“If I could have attached my name to the treasurer’s commentary I would have,” Doerflinger said. “It was spot-on and needed to be said.”
One-time money
In his June 30 Oklahoma Economic Report, Miller noted that writers of the 2014 state budget reduced to $126 million the use of one-time sources of funding, but this figure grew to $292 million in the 2015 budget. The state has been able to tap into accounts such as the Unclaimed Property Fund to increase spending without increasing taxes, but once such accounts have been reduced they may not be able to support subsequent withdrawals to boost budgets in later years.