Missouri revenue up 6% in FY2011

Missouri general revenue collections were up in Fiscal Year 2011, which ended on June 30.

The state took in nearly 6% more in collections as compared to Fiscal Year 2010.

Revenue decreased during each of the previous two fiscal years.

State budget director Linda Luebbering says that much of the uptick is a result of fewer taxpayer refunds.

“Largely people were losing money in the stock market, in simple terms. And as a result of that, they would have owed lower taxes. And so if they paid their taxes based on not taking that into account, we would end up refunding them money because they would have paid more taxes than they needed to,” Luebbering said.

Overall, the state brought in $401 million more than in FY 2010.

Luebbering notes that $150 million of that growth will go towards disaster recovery in Joplin and to flood victims on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Board of Regents approve FY2012 Budget

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Southeast Missouri State University’s Board of Regents approved its Fiscal Year 2012 budget on Wednesday.

The budget includes nearly 97 million dollars for its operations budget and approximately 35 million dollars for the auxiliary operations budget.

The board wrapped a 2 percent merit-based salary raise for non-faculty employees into the budget. Faculty will receive a salary increase of 1.75 percent and a 0.25 percent salary pool to fund post-professioral merit increases

Representatives from two design firms – The Lawrence Group and Cark Enerson Partners – presented updates of their plans for Academic Hall and Magill Hall to the Board of Regents.

The Academic Hall project is currently running slightly under budget. Construction is still scheduled to begin in February 2012.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Mo. Legislature passes budget

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KRCU) - The Missouri legislature passed next year's budget which cuts higher education spending, but not as much as originally proposed by the governor.

Missouri lawmakers passed the $23 billion budget which includes a 5.4 percent cut to Missouri's colleges and universities.

Republican St. Louis County Senator Jim Lembke spoke out against areas of the budget where he saw increases in spending.

"Except in a very few like higher education, the bill that we will be going to next where they took a pretty heft cut on top of a cut that they took last year," Lembke said.

Lembke says it’s the legislators responsibility to be the fiscal stewards for Missourians.

The budget now goes to the governor.

Andrew Weil, Missouri Digital News

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Mo. collections up in February

The latest report from State Budget director Linda Luebbering follows the same trend as the past few months.

February 2011 revenues were up five percent from the same month last year. $353 million were collected in February.

The fiscal year-to-date is up 6.2 percent from this time last year, Luebbering said in a press release. To date, 4.48 billion dollars have been collected, as compared to 4.22 billion at the same time last year.

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