The state’s finances are a bit better than financial experts had predicted. Legislative Fiscal Bureau director Dennis Prouty says when all the accounting’s done, fiscal year 2002 — which ended June 30th — will end in the black, with a bigger ending balance than anticipated.At the end of May, Prouty predicted the state would end the fiscal year with just one-point-one million dollars in the bank. Instead, the new estimate is a 67-million dollar ending balance, but Prouty cautions there are still some details to check — like the estimated sales tax payments from retailers and payroll taxes from employers that are still due the state. He says they should have all the final figures in by the next two to three weeks. Prouty says the state’s economy has apparently hit bottom and is starting to rebound.
