Proposals for ‘one-time money’ questioned

Using so-called one-time money to patch holes in the budget might not be the ideal way to fund a government, says Jan Moller, director of the Louisiana Budget Project. But “there’s one-time money in the budget every year,” he says, and proposals that would further limit the use of such funds are a “prescription for more budget cuts in a budget that has already endured five straight years of cuts.” “Every year we have a certain amount of one-time revenue,” says CABL President/CEO Barry Erwin. “Do you cut off your nose to spite your face and say we’re not going to use any of that?” Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, the leading spokesman for the Budget Reform Campaign, says he has no problem spending the leftover balance of a statutorily dedicated fund for general recurring expenses, if there’s a historical pattern that the additional money is likely to show up again. Otherwise, the money can still be spent, he argues, but for certain constitutionally permissible goals, such as paying down debt, and not operating expenses. “We’re not saying, ‘Don’t spend the money,’ ” he says. “We’re saying, ‘Spend it on how you’re supposed to be spending it.’ ” —David Jacobs