REC members David Underwood, a Clear Lake CPA; Dept of Management director Dave Roederer and Legislative Services Agency director Holly Lyons.
State revenue forecasters are a bit more optimistic about how much tax money is flowing into Iowa’s coffers than they were two months ago.
The Revenue Estimating Conference predicts state revenue for this fiscal year and the next will be slightly higher than they first thought. “All in all we feel things are moving well,” Iowa Department of Management director Dave Roederer, one of the REC members, said during today’s meeting. “That doesn’t mean we should look at everything going gangbusters, but it actually is a little stronger growth that what we though back when we all met in October.”
By law, the governor is to use this month’s estimate to build next year’s state budget. The panel’s decision means Republican Governor Kim Reynolds will be able to recommend spending about $230 million more than last year — for a total state budget of about $8 billion.
(By Iowa Public Radio’s Katarina Sostaric)