Iowa auditor says budget up to $400 million short

State Auditor David Vaudt today concluded that Gov. Chet Culver's proposed fiscal 2011 general fund budget proposal is up to $400 million out of balance.

For his part, the Democratic governor defended his budget plan, saying it spends less than when he took office in 2007 and he dismissed the Republican auditor's criticism as partisan sniping.

“It's easy to take little political shots from the sidelines. I'm getting the job done every day,” Culver said.

However, Vaudt said the governor spending plan exceeds the statutory 99 percent spending limitation and underfunds the commitment to K-12 schools even with a $100 million infusion from the cash reserve and likely will shift costs to property taxpayers.

The auditor also said Culver's budget does not include money for negotiated salary increases that could usher in a new round of unpaid leave or furlough days and layoffs for state employees. Vaudt also questioned whether many of the hoped-for $341 million worth of savings that Culver built into his fiscal 2011 spending plan actually would materialize.

Finally, Vaudt said the governor's budget proposal is built on one-time outside sources, such as $140 million in federal economic stimulus money, to finance general fund spending for the fiscal year that begins next July 1.

“This proposed budget is out of balance by as much as $400 million. Why? The governor's proposed budget exceeds the statutory expenditure limitation by $25 million, underfunds education allowable growth by $270 million and ignores collective bargaining costs and furlough impacts of over $100 million,” Vaudt said.

“Even considering these unfunded costs, the budget still uses a charge-card approach to the state's budget by shifting nearly $450 million in general fund costs to other funds and special accounts,” he added. “The taxpayers of Iowa deserve better.”