After initially heading into the red, Wisconsin state government finished the last fiscal year in the black. That’s according to a report issued Thursday by the administration of Governor Scott Walker. The state finished with $135.5 million, bolstered by better than expected taxes, and lower than anticipated spending on state employees.
The state’s main account had been projected to finish the fiscal year in June with a $283.4 million deficit, something that lawmakers and Walker aren’t allowed to do under the Wisconsin constitution. Republicans took a variety of steps over the past year to close that gap and get the state at least a little back into the black, including delaying millions of dollars in short term debt payments, and not using $98 million of the money that had been set aside to pay for salaries and benefits of state employees.