Patrick Marley

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker's administration this month put off making $101 million in debt payments, driving up costs for taxpayers by more than $2 million in the long run, according to the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office.

The state was due to pay off the debt in May, but instead restructured it so that payments would be extended for another eight years. That translated into $2.3 million in additional interest costs for taxpayers, according to a pair of memos issued Tuesday by Bob Lang, director of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

It's not a new trick. Governors from both parties have long used the move to patch over budget problems.

It's typically used when governors feel they need more breathing room in the state budget. The fiscal year ends June 30 and Wisconsin law requires the state to have a positive balance on that date.

Since 2001, the state has restructured more than $1.5 billion in debt by putting off payments, according to Lang. His memo didn't say how much in interest that ended up costing taxpayers.

"The governor said in the state-of-the-state (address) that we've got our fiscal house in order. I would say decisions like today's show just the opposite," said Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh), who sits on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee.

He compared the effort to similar past ones adopted by the Walker administration that have driven up long-term costs for the state.

"We are doing the same thing — borrowing money from the future to pay for tax cuts we can't afford," Hintz said.

"Governor Walker can use every accounting gimmick in the book, but at the end of the day, it doesn't make him fiscally responsible," said a statement from Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), who also sits on the committee.

Laurel Patrick, a spokeswoman for the Walker administration, in a statement called the move "a prudent financial management tool."

She did not explain why the state needed to bolster its bottom line as the end of the fiscal year approaches. Typically, it would need to do that because tax collections are lower than expected or expenses are higher than anticipated.

The maneuver is often called "scoop and toss" because an existing date is scooped up and tossed into future years.

Last year, the Walker administration used the move to put off $108 million in debt payments.

State law allows the administration to restructure certain short-term lines of credit without the approval of lawmakers. On its own, the refinancing of short-term debt has a limited effect on the state's massive budget, but it adds up when employed frequently.