Rendell cool, for the moment, on state revenue excess

For the first two months of FY2011, Pennsylvania’s revenue is up over projections. But the year is young, and the loss of federal stimulus money this fiscal year will still be a factor.

For the first time in more than two years, Pennsylvania’s revenues exceeded expectations.

But Governor Rendell is curbing his enthusiasm about the news.

Pennsylvania brought in about 7 million more tax dollars than expected last month. The collections put the state .2%  ahead of the amount of year-to-date revenue projections, two months into the new fiscal year.

Rendell welcomes the news, pointing out tax collections have been in the red since April 2008.

“And that’s a good sign,” he says. “Because remember, our estimates predict three percent growth. So we are ahead of the three percent growth factor, and that’s good news.”

Rendell says he’s not too excited about the revenue data, though, pointing out July and August aren’t big months for tax collections.

Most of the state’s revenue is collected at the end of the fiscal calendar. Lawmakers will likely still face a deficit next year, though, even if revenue stays above projections. That’s because 2.8 billion federal stimulus dollars in this year’s budget will not be available next year.