Oklahoma finance officials say revenue collections to the state government's main operating fund are continuing to slide, increasing the possibility of a revenue failure and mandatory cuts in allocations to state agencies before the end of the fiscal year.
The Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported Tuesday that collections to the state's General Revenue Fund in September were about 1 percent below the estimate upon which the current year's budget is based.
State budget writers build a 5-percent "cushion" to cover any shortfall between collections and the estimate. And while the 1 percent shortfall for the first quarter won't trigger any cuts, Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger warns "the road ahead will be rockier."
Doerflinger says he's particularly concerned about the state's economy contracting because of low oil prices.
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