The good news: It looks like the state won't need to borrow money from private lenders to pay bills this spring.
The bad news: The state had to borrow more than $1 billion from other accounts and delay $416 million in payments to K-12 schools, the University of Minnesota and companies owed tax refunds.
Even though there's a momentary high-five about making it through cash-strapped spring without needing to borrow from private lenders, the state could be back at a lender's door by fall.
On Monday, budget officials updated top lawmakers on a cash-flow situation that "looks very, very difficult," said Jim Schowalter, state budget director.
The state's cash-flow account experiences wild fluctuations depending on the revenue coming in and payments going out.
The pattern is generally always the same, but the anemic economy sent the numbers lower. For the 2011 fiscal year, the state projects the account to run a negative balance for eight of 12 months.
The forecast doesn't account for any budget cuts (lawmakers just sliced $312 million), tweaking of payment schedules or improvement in the economy. On the downside, a double dip recession could make things dramatically worse, Schowalter said.
Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, reminded lawmakers that the cash-flow crisis is not the norm.
