New Mexico State Auditor Tim KellerSTATE News:
SANTA FE ― The House Republican Caucus sent a letter to New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller yesterday asking him to specifically identify unspent government funds that could be reallocated to other areas of state government.
The letter, signed by 31 members of the Republican caucus, cited two reports prepared by Keller’s office that claimed New Mexico had over $4 billion in unspent money sitting in agency accounts.
The lawmakers wrote, “[w]e appreciate the work that your office performed in tallying these fund balances and providing suggestions on best practices for maintaining fund balances for capital outlay projects. However, the reports did not address a central question: what portions of these balances are available for immediate appropriation?”
The Republican representatives asked Keller to respond to that question and report any capital outlay projects that could be de-authorized with the location and dollar amount of each project identified. The legislators requested that the information be provided item by item as the information became available.
“Given the current budget situation, it is our duty to pursue any potential remedies available that would not increase the burden on New Mexico taxpayers in the form of cuts to services or tax increases,” they wrote. “If these funds are in fact unused and accessible, it is up to us to utilize those funds.”
