Utah's surplus surges

Utah's tax surplus is already above $92 million — and the budget year isn't even half over.

The latest State Tax Commission monthly revenue report, released Tuesday, shows the state has accumulated almost as much extra cash through November as it did in the entire previous budget year, which ended June 30.

"When it rains, it pours," said Doug Macdonald, the Tax Commission's chief economist.

That's the forecast Gov. Olene Walker was counting on when she announced her second and final budget last week. Her $8.6 billion spending plan includes some $235 million in surplus funds.

Some of that money is still sitting in state coffers from the previous budget year, when the state posted a $94 million surplus. The governor's budget also anticipates $180 million will be left over when the current budget year ends.

About half of the previous budget year's surplus went into the state's so-called "rainy day" fund to cover any emergencies. Walker is proposing boosting that fund by another $72 million next year.

She also proposed spending $100 million on state construction projects, including the University of Utah's main library. The rest of her one-time spending from surplus funds would be spread throughout state government, according to her budget director, Richard Ellis.

All of that could be changed by Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr., who has said he will have his own budget ready after he takes office Jan. 3. Ellis, who will continue to serve as budget director in the new administration, said no decisions have been made yet.

But Huntsman may well have his own ideas about how to spend the surplus.

"He could have a whole different take," Ellis said. "He could say he doesn't want to do $100 million worth of projects, he wants to do $50 million. . . . Maybe he doesn't want to put $72 million in the rainy day fund. There's flexibility."

The 2005 Legislature, which convenes next month, will have the final say about the surplus.

Ellis said he was pleased with the latest revenue numbers.

"It's tracking well with our revised revenue estimates, which we're glad to see," he said. "It gives us comfort in knowing through five months we're looking at $92 million and we're projecting $180 million."