IPR file
The Revenue Estimating Conference predicted Iowa’s revenue will grow 3.7 percent in the next fiscal year.
Iowa’s revenue forecasters estimated Friday that Gov. Kim Reynolds will have an additional $296 million to craft a state budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 that starts in July.
The Revenue Estimating Conference predicted Iowa’s revenue will grow 3.7 percent in the next fiscal year compared to the current fiscal year, to a total of $8.26 billion. But the panel members said there is still much of the same economic uncertainty as when they met in October.
“I was hoping for a bit more clarity by the time of this meeting,” said Holly Lyons, fiscal division director of the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency. “But we just don’t have it. Most of what we’ve learned just muddies the water and adds more uncertainty: the third surge in the virus, unknown timing of the vaccine rollout, and gridlock on federal stimulus.”