Auditor worried about the state budget

Auditor Nicole Galloway says the state *will* recover economically. But, she urges lawmakers to learn from the COVID crisis and manage the state’s finances more conservatively.

Galloway has warned for the past two years that the reserve fund- also called the Rainy Day fund by lawmakers- is not easily accessible for emergency spending. Instead the fund is often used for day-to-day cash flow.

“We knew that because we aren’t prepared,  we don’t have a rainy day fund, the state is going to have to significantly cut expenditures and services.” Galloway points to the loss of investments in things like education and infrastructure.

Auditor Galloway went on to explain that budgets are “about priorities.”    When the state is in a crisis it can’t expand and increase the “rainy-day-fund” so things get re-prioritized.

All this information was highlighted in an audit and report last year. The auditor and her office have been urging lawmakers to grow an emergency fund rather than cutting spending in tough times since the report.

The auditor’s office is building on online tool for citizens to track incoming federal money from the CARES act — and how it’s being spent.