South Dakota Closes the 2020 Budget Year with a $19 Million Surplus
State’s Total Reserves Increase to $193 Million
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota closed the 2020 budget year on June 30 with a surplus of $19.1 million, Governor Kristi Noem announced today. Although total revenue finished $7.9 million lower than adopted estimates, the state general fund budget ended with expenditures approximately $27.2 million lower than budgeted. The state spent $74.8 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds in fiscal year 2020.
“Despite the challenges with COVID-19, South Dakota remains in a strong financial position,” said Governor Noem. “As many states closed their economies, I trusted South Dakotans to make the right decisions for themselves and their loved-ones. Our future remains bright because we kept our state open for business and we live within our means.”
Of the $27.2 million of 2020 general fund reversions, $23.9 million came from executive branch agencies, $1.8 million came from the Board of Regents, $0.9 million came from the Unified Judicial System, and $0.6 million came from the Legislature and constitutional offices. The unspent funds in fiscal year 2020 represent just 1.6 percent of the total general fund budget.
Total general fund revenue for fiscal year 2020 was lower than legislative adopted estimates in February by $7.9 million, or 0.5 percent. Sales and use tax, which is the state’s largest revenue source, finished $11.8 million below estimates but still grew 4.6 percent over the prior fiscal year. A combination of all other sources of general fund revenue finished the fiscal year $3.9 million above legislative estimates.
By law, the fiscal year 2020 surplus of $19.1 million was transferred to the budget reserve fund. The state’s budget reserve fund now has a balance of $149.4 million, and the general revenue replacement fund has a balance of $44.0 million, for a total reserve of $193.4 million.
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I know there are quite a few naysayers (i.e. wacko nutjob Legislators) that would see this as an opportunity to start cutting state jobs and services. On the contrary, now is the time to reward our state employees, especially during these difficult times. Most are under paid compared to the general public and have been subjected to little to no raises in pay for the past 5-10 years along with ridicule and demeaning comments by some of Legislators. I don’t know of any other job where you are dependent on an independent body, other than your boss, to determine your future pay. Yet, that is what it is and we need to live with it. Bottom line, our Legislators should support those who support them, those state workers that keep our state chugging along this positive path. It is their hard work, dedication and sacrifice that has allowed South Dakota to have a year-end surplus.
I am a whacko nut job type then. This tells me 1 of 2 things, we either really dont need all this crap we have now, or we are over taxed, take your pick. Govt needs to shrink not expand and frankly not sure how many state employees deserve raises. Everytime I interact with them or walk into any agency I see tons of people sitting around, not doing jack, taking their mandated “union break” when there are lines out the door, etc. I loathe big government and the folks who buy into it, it’s been nothing but, a net negative in our lives. I say if this COVID thing has taught me anything it’s how unnecessary many of our govt employees are and how little things we truly need.
I tend to agree with your general statement Anonymous, in that this may provide a great opportunity to take a look at making our state government more efficient (I never said anything about expanding government whatsoever). I also agree with your comment that not all employees deserve a raise. Yet, you must admit that quite a few that have not had raises in more than 5 years or more probably need and deserve something (a 2% raise doesn’t count in my book since it doesn’t keep up with inflation). Government, in general, should look at how the business world provides raises to its employees – based on merit/performance. Its unfortunate that the few times you interacted with state government employees your were left with a bad taste in your mouth. I have a lot of friends that work for the State of SD and they work their butts off day in and day out. Yet, you must admit that some of the services provided by state government are necessary and essential for the good of all (like law enforcement, public works, roads, public health, services to the elderly and disabled). Nevertheless, again, this may provide an opportunity to evaluate how we do business as a state while then offering wages that more aligned with the real work world. An overall good discussion. But, bottom line, it appears that there really isn’t a lot of bloat in your state government.
I agree. The state employees salaries seem to be at the lower end of the pay scale. We get what we pay for.
“I dont know of any other job where you are dependent on an independent body, other than your boss, to determine your future pay..” Um…try farming or ranching.
Many state employees deserve a raise…I agree. But I wish there was more oversight to get rid of those who dont, stop appointing people to management who are not qualified but know somebody who knows somebody, go thru each agency and prove that their employees are essential and necessary.
I think the Governor should get a raise, I recently read her entire cabinet and the Lt Gov all make more than she does…..
That makes no sense to me, but I checked it out and its true. You can check it out for yourself here:
https://open.sd.gov/
Oh don’t worry about the Governor. Watching politics over the past 40 years has taught me that when politicians leave office they cash in quite nicely. Dem or Repub it doesn’t matter.
Every business is looking at their structure and finding ways to improve. Government should too.
Every business is evaluating their personnel and discerning who should stay and who should go. Government should too.
Every business is giving raises and cutting pay based on contributed value to the mission of the business. Government should too.
So she willingly decided to not fulfill education funding obligations and promises to the tune of $19 million?
Sped funding is a joke in this state and I’m thankful my kids don’t have need of an IEP.
we can blow through that surplus with one blizzard.
But bring on the professional educators who will actually say things like “it makes me sick to think the state has al that money and isn’t spending it.”
yep, actually heard that at a legislative crackerbarrel several years ago. I can’t imagine how the thought of a budget surplus could trigger fainting and vomiting but there it was. A professional educator complained that a budget surplus made her sick.
SMH
Well a lot of those teachers are tax and spend liberals of course they can’t understand a surplus
Teachers are not underpaid when you work 9 months out of the year and the TONS of “in Service days’ these folks take its crazy. Lets also not forget that many of us MIGHT be in favor of looking at raises if you educated our youth instead of indoctrinating them. The Teachers Union makes it next to impossible to reward good teachers due tenure and their continued “protecting their own”. Then we flip to the Administrators who make insane amounts of money and dont seem to be making schools safer and more efficient. I think this all is due to the fact that most in the education business are “tax and spend” liberals. I believe we have one of the highests cost per student ratio in the world yet our students are falling way behind the rest of the world. If my kid were small I would homeschool them
Everyone is jumping on what we should do with the money, can’t we just be happy for a moment that we did not have a deficit to deal with as originally predicted?
Amen.
I wondered how long it would be before teachers were demanding this….didn’t take long at all.
…And we’d have been $55 million in the hole without Uncle Sam spending his grandchildren’s money. Fiscal responsibility is only for when liberals are in charge, right?
Correct, sir. Pork barrel spending is only what’s spent in someone else’s back yard, and no one wants “big government” until there’s a flood.
Ike, I will support returning the money if all states do. You are correct. We have spent too much of our grandchildren’s money and inflicted too much of the burden on single parents and the working poor.
Looks like we can cut that .5 sales tax we added on a couple ago.