Columbia Chamber of Commerce shown dire budget picture
The Columbia business community heard warnings Friday about the harm the local economy could experience if the state’s budget picture doesn’t brighten.
Rep. Kep Kendrick, D-Columbia, and a member of the House Budget Committee, spoke to the Columbia Chamber of Commerce about the effects of lagging revenue collections. Playback of the live video stream of the event is available in the player below.
Officials with the Department of Revenue reported the state has collected less tax revenue than expected in the 2019 fiscal year, which could have big effects on the 2020 budget. Some believe the shortfall is a result of errors in tax withholding tables, which were corrected in September. The Department of Revenue did not collect as much in taxes as it should have as a result of the mistake in formulas. House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, said the Department of Revenue will catch up as people begin to pay what they owe on their taxes. Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Matt McCormick said his organization is afraid a state shortfall could have negative consequences for local institutions such as the Columbia Regional Airport and the University of Missouri, the city’s largest employer. McCormick said he has concerns, specifically, about public higher education in Columbia, including potential effects on Moberly Area Community College. “It’s that uncertainty of what is this going to look like and so it’s a waiting game,” McCormick said. “Of course every community across the state’s waiting to see what this looks like on a community, on your local level.” Kendrick said the state could dip into surplus from a previous budget if revenue continues to fall short, which isn’t a good option. “We can still basically see a slight retraction and use the one-time surplus money that we had carrying over from FY 18 to make our balance … to make our budget balance this year. But that doesn’t set us up in a good direction for future budget years,” Kendrick said. He said when it comes to the budget, money for higher education is often the first to go. “I think one of my big concerns is if we don’t hit that revenue growth as well, then if we see withholds, withholds will likely come from higher education institutions. It’s kind of the balancing wheel of state budgets,” Kendrick said. He said the lack of revenue in the budget could also affect local business owners. “Especially in a community like Columbia that it has a strong University of Missouri. If we saw reductions in revenue that led to withholds or to further cuts in state funding to higher education then it would of course impact our broader community,” Kendrick said. Both Kendrick and McCormick said roads and bridges need to be a major focus of the legislative session. Kendrick said toll roads need to be part of the conversation, though they might not be the solution to Missouri’s transportation funding woes.
