BILLINGS (AP) Gov.
Brian Schweitzer said
Thursday that projections
putting the state $475 million
in the black shouldn’t give the
impression there’s a budget
surplus. “We owe more money
than we have,” he said.
Schweitzer told reporters
here, in what he called the
“financial heart of Montana,”
the state has significant
unpaid obligations specifically,
in owing $1.3 billion to
teacher and public employee
retirement plans.
He said he’d like to see a
“significant portion” of what
he said is the projected ending
fund balance for this biennium
that estimated $475
million reinvested in the
pension systems. He did not
specify a figure and said
there were other needs for a
one-time infusion of funds, as
well.
The governor raised the
issue ahead of a legislative
committee hearing in Helena,
during which the projection
was expected to be discussed,
and two days after a state primary
election that set the
matchups for this fall’s legislative
races.
Schweitzer said he wants
voters to question candidates
that come knocking in the
months ahead about where
the money for plans they outline
will come from. He said
that while the state economy
is doing well, the state also
has to live within its means
and “pay its obligations.”
