There are worries that the state budget which started last week may already be in trouble as the state needs to close the books on the old budget.

Georgia only made it through the fiscal year after mandated teacher furloughs and cuts to state services. Officials are now awaiting revenue numbers for June so they can close out the year. Those figures are expected to be released later this month. By law Georgia has to balance its budget. Georgia State University budget expert Carolyn Bordeaux says the shortfall could be up to $200 million.

“Fiscal year '10 appears to come in under expectation," she says. "What this does, it creates a ripple effect into fiscal year '11, because you have to re-set the fiscal year '11 base by $100 or $200 million.”

And things could get worse next year because the current budget is propped up by $1 billion in federal stimulus which will expire. Georgia’s economy needs to grow by at least 4 percent this year for the budget numbers to improve.

Tags: Georgia, economy, Georgia State University, state budget, fiscal year, Carolyn Bordeaux