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Revenue Chief Says W.Va. Lawmakers Facing Funding Deficit
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss says West Virginia lawmakers will likely have to figure out how to close a funding deficit of more than $400 million when they begin work on the state’s 2017-18 budget in February.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that Kiss told a legislative interim committee on Tuesday that there’s a “significant structural hole” in the state’s financial picture, which extends through the length of the six-year budget forecast.
Kiss told legislators that the structural problem can’t be solved with across-the-board cuts.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has cut state spending by more than $400 million over the past three years with a series of across-the-board cuts, including a 2 percent mid-year cut ordered last month.
Kiss said Tomblin believes additional across-the-board cuts would require layoffs and elimination of services