Gov. Gary Herbert to release proposed budget Dec. 10

SALT LAKE CITY — Last week may have been dominated by the Thanksgiving holiday for most Utahns, but it was all about budget deliberations for Gov. Gary Herbert.

Sure, he took time off for the big feast, but there were at least three separate meetings on his schedule devoted to deciding the state's spending plan.

Herbert squeezed the extra meetings into his shortened work week because he's planning on releasing his proposed budget early this year, on Dec. 10.

The good news for the governor is that the recession's impact on state revenues appears to have bottomed out, and there may be some increase in tax collections.

But the recently updated revenue estimates for the current year's budget anticipate only about an additional $6 million, an amount that's seen as statistically insignificant in a budget for some $11.6 billion.

And the growth in the upcoming budget year that begins July 1, 2011, isn't likely to be much better, adding up to only about half the average revenue increase of 8 percent.

The slow growth means it will take the state some time to catch up after several years of budget cuts and using one-time sources of money, including federal stimulus funds, to pay for ongoing costs.

Lawmakers reluctantly accepted an additional $101 million in federal stimulus funds for schools in a recent special session, but half of that money will be used to cover a shortfall in the budget year that ended June 30.

Using federal stimulus funds and other one-time sources of revenues have already left a $313 million gap in the current budget, a structural imbalance that needs to be closed.

Added to the list of budget concerns is the need to fund growth in public and higher education, something lawmakers couldn't find a way to do last session even as they attempted to keep from cutting school budgets.

"We've got a couple of years before the budget is normalized," state budget director John Nixon said. "There are some real needs out there."

The governor's spokeswoman, Angie Welling, said it's too soon to talk about exactly what's going be in the budget.

"There isn't much more to say at this point," Welling said. "Gov. Herbert's priorities are to public education, reducing the structural imbalance and protecting critical services in areas such as public safety and human services."

Speaker-elect Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, said she's not expecting any surprises in the governor's budget.