State Auditor David Vaudt says he’s concerned about the seven-and-a-half percent increase in overall state spending that Governor Culver’s asking lawmakers to endorse. Vaudt says he’s concerned with that level of increase, on top of similar state spending hikes in recent years.
But Vaudt, who is a Republican, saw some highlights in the Democratic governor’s budget address. "Obviously, it was nice to see that he’s talking about good budgeting principles," Vaudt says. "It’s something that prior administrations have talked about, too, so we’ll have to see when I analyze the budget whether he’s following those principles." Culver told lawmakers he won’t accept "smoke and mirrors" to balance the state budget and Culver said he’ll insist that tax revenues be set aside in savings accounts.
Vaudt will review Culver’s budget outline and then the auditor will offer a more comprehensive analysis in a couple of weeks.