By Charles Young, WV News
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — Gov. Jim Justice is proposing a “zero growth, flat budget” for fiscal year 2022, according to state finance officials.
The governor’s $4.56 billion budget is virtually the same as last year’s $4.97 billion budget, said state Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy.
“You might want to call it a zero growth, flat budget, which, considering that we’re in the middle of a once-every-century pandemic, is pretty remarkable that we’ve been able to keep things that even,” he said.
Justice told officials to prepare a flat budget back in December, Hardy said.
“He did not want us, in this time that we’re in, to try to grow the base budget,” he said. “Our agencies were given instructions when we were preparing for our budget hearings — and as late as last week these instructions were reinforced through communication from the governor’s office — to stay within last year’s budget.” …
