JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri started fiscal year 2015 with an increase in general revenue for the month of July.
General revenue increased 6.5 percent -- or 31.5 million -- from July of last year, according to State Budget Director Linda Luebbering.
The increase comes just a month after Luebbering announced general revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30 was down 1 percent -- or 79.4 million -- from 2013.
Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, initially projected 2.8 percent revenue growth for fiscal year 2014, while the Republican-led Legislature estimated 2 percent.
After both overestimated how much revenue would grow, Nixon cut $1.1 billion from the $26.4 billion fiscal year 2015 budget. About $400 million of the $786 million in general revenue cuts were because of this overestimation.Â
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That makes the governor and the Legislature's goal for revenue growth in the current fiscal year -- 5.2 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively -- seem even loftier than before.
The governor's budget cuts assumed fiscal year 2014 revenue would be down 1 percent and fiscal year 2015 revenue would grow 5 percent.
Luebbering previously said revenue for the current fiscal year would have to grow several percentage points more to reach the 5 percent given the lack of growth in fiscal year 2014.