Posted on 12/05/2010 3:28:14 PM PST by george76
In its struggles to deliver balanced state budgets over the past 10 years, Colorado has amassed $3.7 billion in obligations that it may never pay.
That sum includes severance taxes taken from municipalities, funds collected for such state services as tourism promotion and waste tire cleanup that were never delivered, prison and school bus costs that were never paid for, and other accounting tricks.
State budget analysts told the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee in November that the 2011-2012 budget, with an anticipated $1.1 billion shortfall, no longer includes the $3.7 billion cut over the years.
The amounts were included in the small print in annual budgets over the years, but this was the first year budget analysts even tried to add up the cost of these potential obligations, and ...
Potential state obligations include $430 million to cover lost federal funds for Medicaid; $264 million to fund a state reserve designed to cover any spending that exceeds constitutional spending limits; $90 million to cover a 2003 accounting trick in which the state moved one monthly paycheck for state employees into the next fiscal year; $705 million to reinstate public school finance cuts; and $103 million to restore a tax break for senior citizens.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedenverchannel.com ...
Colorado has been Californicated!
No wonder our roads are crap.
Keep giving Money away! Illegals ,Unions and worthless Government agencies.
Colorado’s largest public employee pension fund lost more than $10 billion in 2008.
the Public Employees Retirement Association or PERA can now meet only about 52 percent of its obligations.
Perhaps California will flip them a loan to get them by after we as a country bail out California with money Washington doesn't have after China agrees to buy US bonds to cover us.
What are they going to do, raise the retirement age and cut benefits?
Here is a dirty secret about pension obligations in Colorado and mnay other states. The baby boom has hit public employee pensions. In Colorado, a crush of employees has retired as early as possible over the last 10 years. an increasing part of the portfolio must be invested to support the crush of retirees, many who spiked their pensions in creative ways.
The problem is long term interest rates. Private sector plans for lifetime income (single premium insurance annuities) purchase a portfolio of investment grade corporate bonds. However long term corporate bonds rates are not 3 to 3.5 percent a dismal rate for a long bond with lots of uncertainty about future inflation. Long term bonds are still in bubble so the pension agency has to be cautious in purchasing them. How can a pension manager generate income to pay for retiree benefits?
Just one of a few “discoveries” conveniently made after electing Hick as Gov....
Auditors said employer contributions for state workers would have to rise to 17.91 percent, from the current 11.03 percent, for the fund to be fully solvent within 30 years.
and we just elected a lying POS sanvctuary city mayor who wil become the sanctuary state governor, plus sending a libtard obama sock puppet back to the senate. we treat illegals in this state better than citizens.
Just another liberal state going down in flames.
“and we just elected a lying POS sanvctuary city mayor who wil become the sanctuary state governor, plus sending a libtard obama sock puppet back to the senate. we treat illegals in this state better than citizens.”
The whole thing is money and now there is none.we will see how far these Rats go now.
I can guess who they want to make up the difference.
Ain't the Tea Party great?
Caaliifoornia here we come!
OK, it’s time to look into establishing Texas as my official residence. Bush the elder did it as I remember. No state income tax in Texas. Something tells me Lickenmypooper is going to raise taxes.
I wonder how many other states are going ‘discover’ similar problems soon.
Demoncrap Governor left a mess.........well who would have ever thunk it.
CO is a sanctuary state isn’t it? Sorta like CA.
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