An editorial from The Journal
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — By the end of August, West Virginia’s general fund budget was out of balance by $48.9 million. On Monday, state legislators and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin made it $78.9 million.
They were right to do so, in a way. Our neighbors need help and in West Virginia, we go to their aid first and ask questions later.
Tomblin called lawmakers into a special session to approve state funding to help victims of flooding in several southeastern counties. In addition to claiming 23 lives, the June disaster caused an estimated $339.8 million in damage.
It is hoped the federal government will cover as much 75 percent of what is needed to repair the damage. Legislators have authorized spending $85 million for the work.
Of that, $55 million is coming out of the state’s emergency Rainy Day Fund, set aside for just such purposes. After that amount is withdrawn, the fund will be left with nearly $682 million.
But the remaining $30 million is being taken from the general fund budget, which already was deeply in the red.
The official explanation is that $21 million will come from “surplus” lottery funds and $9 million is from “surplus” general fund money.
How, one wonders, can anyone use the word “surplus” in connection with a general fund $48.9 million in the hole after just two months of the fiscal year?
Yes, Tomblin and legislators did the right thing. That’s just who we are in the Mountain State.
Now, however, it is time to ask those questions about how the general fund budget will be brought back into balance before the fiscal year ends June 30. The sad reality is that there is no reason to doubt a veritable flood of red ink will be coming during the next 10 months.
