Crago Discusses State Budget

State Representative for House District 40 Barry Crago recently discussed the budget and the upcoming legislative session with the Buffalo City Council, saying the budget is the number one priority during this year’s session.

Crago said the Governor’s Budget is set at $2.9 billion, with projected income at $3.5 billion over the biennium for an estimated surplus of about $600,000 that he wants to put away into one of the state’s savings accounts.

This session should be easier than the last biennium because the state isn’t currently in a budget crisis.

That is a double-edged sword he said, because there is extra money to spend, but hopefully lawmakers can save some and not fund projects that don’t fund themselves moving forward that they then need find additional money for that down the road.

Crago said that is the danger of having that mindset and legislators need to be aware of that when they get to the session.

This year’s legislative session begins Monday, February 14.