Wyoming ended its last fiscal year in a little better condition than predicted earlier, according to a report issued Wednesday by the state’s leading financial officers.
But Gov. Mark Gordon urged Wyoming residents not to forget that the state still faces major shortfalls moving forward.
“Even if this report suggests moderate improvements … our state’s fiscal situation remains dire,” he said. “We must still exercise budget discipline to balance our budget.”
The report issued by Consensus Revenue Estimating Group was an update to one issued in May, when the panel of fiscal officers for various state agencies predicted a shortfall for the 2021-22 biennium of up to $1.5 billion.
The report also predicted the state would end the 2020 fiscal year on June 30 with $70 million less in its general fund, its main bank account, than originally believed because of declines in mineral tax income and sales and use tax income expected to accompany the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Wednesday’s update said income for the state ran slightly ahead of the May projections.
“The current pace of actual revenues … suggest that the May 2020 revenue forecasts are almost certain to be exceeded,” the report said.
For the state’s general fund, its main bank account, deposits were expected to total about $1.06 billion for the year ending June 30, about $50 million ahead of May’s projections.
The biggest part of that income is from sales and use taxes, which were expected to total $440.6 million in 2020, compared to forecasts of $418 million in May.
“Even during the darkest economic period of pandemic to date – the second quarter of 2020 – certain retail trade businesses such as building materials and garden supplies, grocery stores, sporting goods stores, warehouse club and super centers still demonstrated year-over-year growth in sales, offsetting some of the substantial declines in leisure and hospitality services,” the report said.
The state’s income from mineral taxes also exceeded estimates by about $33 million, the report said.
“Severance tax collections are above the May 2020 … projections, mainly attributed to the less drastic declines in both oil and natural gas production and quicker rebound of oil prices compared to levels projected by CREG,” it said.
However, Gordon, in a news release, said residents must remember that income for the state’s main bank accounts in 2020 still were 17.6% below the previous year’s totals.
“We are still well below what we budgeted for in January,” he said. “We will continue to face significant challenges going forward and will need to continue to make tough decisions about how we meet this budget shortfall.”
