Photo by Lee Pulaski/Lake Powell Chronicle State treasurer Dean Martin (right) explains to an audience at City Hall on Saturday what Arizona’s finances look like right now and what will need to be done to make the state solvent as Bradley Beauchamp, a candidate for Congressional District 1, listens.

PAGE — State treasurer Dean Martin held an informal town hall meeting in Page on Saturday evening, but the news was not very cheerful as he told a small audience at City Hall that the state of Arizona is broke. Actually, it’s more than broke; it’s in debt.

Every penny the state collects in revenue has to go through the treasurer’s office, 1,800 accounts in all, including all the municipalities. The state general fund, which has been the biggest argument in the Arizona Legislature the last few years, is only one of those funds, and right now, it’s $100 million in debt.

“Local governments are actually now our largest customer,” Martin said. “The state of Arizona used to be our largest customer, but because the state has been spending money faster than it’s been coming in the door, the amount of money in their bank has been shrinking dramatically. Actually, local governments are about twice the size of the state right now, when it was the opposite just a few years ago.”

When asked if the state could raid municipal accounts, Martin said it could not. There is some state and local money mixed together in investment pools he said could be vulnerable, but the state cannot take money from another customer’s account without permission, just like a person could not take money from another person’s account.

It did not stop the state from trying once, though, as Martin recalled former Gov. Janet Napolitano tried to pull such a maneuver a few years ago. It resulted in a lawsuit from the League of Cities and Towns, which the state lost.

For the complete article see the 09-23-2009 issue.

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