Do not expect Governor Jim Justice to propose a pay raise for school teachers, staff and state workers when he delivers his State of the State address at the Capitol Wednesday.
West Virginia Department of Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy said on Talkline Thursday that the state’s finances just do not support an increase.
“We have recommended to the Governor at this time, based on the numbers that we have, that we don’t see that there is any way that he can build a pay raise into the budget,” Hardy said.
The budget for this current fiscal year is already tight. Revenue collections started off well below estimates during the first two months of the fiscal year and the state has been playing catch-up ever since.
General revenue collections for December were strong, finishing $7 million ahead of estimates and 1.2 percent above December of last year, but the state is still $33 million below estimates for the year.
“The cumulative shortfall was due to a significant slump in energy prices, particularly for natural gas and slower than anticipated growth in income withholding tax revenues partially due to a work stoppage involving interstate pipeline projects,” according to a release from the Governor’s office. “Coal sales have also recently slowed.”
Teachers and public employees have received pay raises averaging five percent each of the last two years, and those raises have added more than $205 million to the state’s base budget. Additionally, teachers and state workers also have built-in annual pay increases based on years of service.
Hardy said the no-pay-raise recommendation follows a directive from Justice to hold the line on spending.
“The Governor told us to work very hard to prepare a flat budget for presentation next week,” Hardy said. “That’s been our instruction from the Governor.”
Of course, things can change.
Two years ago, Governor Justice proposed a one percent raise. The small size of the increase, along with concerns about health care costs, drove teachers and service workers to strike. Their nearly two-week long walk-out forced Justice and the Legislature to raise pay by an average of five percent.
Lawmakers, who prepare their own budget and then work out a compromise with the Governor, could include a pay raise. However, they would have to find the revenue and that means deep cuts someplace else or a tax increase, and neither of those options is likely.