Positive reports about budgets, from the individual to the federal level and everywhere in between, have been hard to come by in recent years, so a forecast that Colorado will have more money in its coffers than previously projected is both welcome and unexpected news. What it will prompt, of course, is far more predictable: partisan wrangling over what to do with the money.
Gov. John Hickenloopers budget office predicts a 2 percent improvement in the states revenue forecast over December projections, owed to increased economic activity in the state as well as the planned closure of a state prison a move that will save the state $14 million a year. In all, forecasters anticipate a $150 million increase in funding, and the needs of deserving programs with hands extended for a piece of this pie exceeds the number of dollars available for distribution. Looking first to those areas in the state budget that have been hardest hit by recent years cuts is the responsible move for lawmakers. Angling for a tax cut is not.
Not surprisingly, though, that is just what Republican lawmakers are doing. Upon release of the good budgetary news, Republicans announced plans to use $100 million to restore a property tax break for seniors who are longtime homeowners in the state. Democrats have other ideas that include restoring funding for schools and colleges areas that have taken big hits during budget cuts in the preceding several cycles. That seems a more sensible place to start than looking for ways of returning this needed revenue to taxpayers.
The distance between Colorados school funding the national average has been growing since 1986, with gaps widening precipitously in the past decade. Colorado is not on the positive side of the gap. That discrepancy has been made worse by economic woes in Colorado, reflective of the national climate, that has forced hundreds of millions in funding cuts for Colorado schools since 2009. Backfilling those painful reductions should be the first place lawmakers look when deciding how to allocate the welcome funding bump. Beyond that, state colleges and universities have seen a 30 percent decrease in state funding since 2009 a dramatic hit that should be reversed with all possible haste.
The $150 million cannot in itself provide the assistance that any one anemic program budget needs to fully recover from recent hard times, but it can help fortify some essential priority areas. Education is top among these, given the importance of investing in graduating well-prepared students from Colorados K-12 schools and providing accessible higher education thereafter. Doing so pays far larger dividends for the long-range state economy than a small tax break.
Restoring property tax breaks for seniors is certainly a commitment lawmakers should honor when the time is right. That will be signaled by a budgetary picture far rosier than one that shows $150 million in unanticipated revenues. With general fund revenues projected to be just over $8 billion in the 2012-2013 budget cycle, the breathing room provided by that extra money is minimal, albeit welcome. It is far too soon to begin looking for ways to provide tax relief. Instead, lawmakers must look to undo the damage that three years of recessionary budgets have wrought on crucial state endeavors. The money will not go far, but it is an important and encouraging start.