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Budget Shortfall Means Delayed Raises for State Employees and Teachers

Virginia’s governor announced an unexpected budget shortfall today. It means state employees and teachers who were due for a raise won’t see that money anytime soon. It also means state agencies will have to find ways to cut spending, and Virginia’s rainy day fund will be taking a hit. 

Back in February, the governor and lawmakers created Virginia’s two-year budget. The process is always a bit of a gamble; much of the calculations are based on money the state doesn’t have yet, future collections in sales and income taxes.

Fast-forward six months later and the predictions are wrong. While there has been growth in tax revenue, it’s nowhere near as much as expected.

Republican Tommy Norment is head of the Senate Finance Committee. 

“The taxes collected are declining because of the lower-paying jobs. To me a greater concern is that the sales tax is down and what that is reflecting is that people are spending less.”

Now, that means the state suddenly has a lot less to spend -- leaving lawmakers to scramble and figure out exactly what Virginia can no longer afford.

“It’s pretty simple; we’re just going to have to be more fiscally conservative in our spending aspirations. Regretfully, that will create some discomfort amongst a number of agencies. But we just have to impose that.”

Both lawmakers and the Governor agree it will be a priority to spare education spending.

Mallory Noe-Payne is a Radio IQ reporter based in Richmond.
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