Comptroller Says Money Is There For Raises

I’m sure that this announcement will surely help Comptroller Combs with any aspirations for higher office she may be considering in 2010:

Leaving no doubt, Comptroller Susan Combs said Tuesday that the state has enough money to give employees the pay raises the Legislature promised them before going home at the end of May.

A strong economy, generating more sales tax than expected, will help cover the $402.4 million the Legislature earmarked for raises over a two-year period beginning in 2008, Combs said.Although the Legislature authorized pay increases in the session that ended May 28, payment to state workers depends upon a certification by the comptroller that enough money will be available.

The Legislature spent $458 million in tax money to give employees a 4 percent pay raise in 2005 and another 3 percent last year. In 2003, the state was faced with a deficit, and no raise was granted.

Of course, we know from our most recent Comptroller of Public Accounts, that, in theory, the Comptroller can certify the budget based upon her own office’s estimates. Only time will tell, however, if this Comptroller’s estimates are more accurate and less politically motivated than her predecessor’s.

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