Montana budget forecast sees red

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By The Associated Press

Story Published: Feb 8, 2010 at 7:45 PM MST

Story Updated: Feb 8, 2010 at 7:45 PM MST

HELENA - A new budget forecast predicts that state coffers will run into a deficit by the middle of 2011. But the governor's office called the latest prediction irrelevant.

The Legislative Fiscal Division reports that the state will be in the hole more than $60 million when the budget period ends in the middle of 2011. It is the latest in a string of forecasts that have shown an increasingly bleak budget picture.

The governor's office points out that the state still has $324 million in the bank right now. It predicts that the projected balance by the middle of 2011 is close to zero, and Gov. Brian Schweitzer has started making plans for budget cuts.

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