Governor Jim Doyle now says the state faces a budget shortfall of $5.4 billion over the next couple years. Filling that hole could require drastic cuts or tax increases, but Doyle says he’s taking some smaller steps in the short term.
While the overall budget deficit looms large, there’s another number that’s important if the state’s going to pay all its bills and not run out of money before next summer. Doyle’s Department of Administration estimates that because tax revenues have taken such a hit, the current state budget could be about $350-million in the hole by the end of June.