Gov 10-29-19
Governor Mark Gordon has issued the following statement in response to this morning’s release of the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG) Wyoming State Government Revenue Forecast for Fiscal Year 2020 — Fiscal Year 2024.
The October 2019 CREG report decreases forecast revenues directed to the General Fund and Budget Reserve Account by $185.4 million over the next three fiscal years. A copy of the report is available here. The Governor will release his Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget on November 18.
“To no one’s surprise, the CREG report has shown Wyoming is facing leaner times. We will have to find a few new holes in our belt. This process will not be easy.
Wyoming is accustomed to boom/bust cycles — what economists like to call “market cycles”; but this time I believe we may be experiencing a more fundamental change that will affect how well we can fund government services going forward. Moreover, these changes are poised to accelerate over the next several years.
We will continue to deliver the services Wyoming citizens need in a more efficient manner. And, as always, we will ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse. But these alone will not address our future budget shortfalls.
As treasurer, I worked hard to better position our state to weather tough times. But my work and that of Treasurer Meier is not a way to avoid tough decisions. We will have many to make over the next few years. As a state we must be clear-eyed about that. Our decisions must be focused on making our state, her economy, and her citizens stronger. We are the most fiscally responsible state in the union, and I will continue that tradition. I look forward to presenting a balanced and measured budget on November 18th, one that will set a course for Wyoming over the coming years.”