Arkansas starts fiscal year with $23.7 million surplus (UALR Public Radio) - Arkansas is starting the new fiscal year with a $23.7 million surplus, state finance officials said Thursday, but it faced a dip in revenue last month.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration reported that the state's net available revenue for the fiscal year that ended this week came to $4.4 billion. That's $23.7 million above predictions.

The state's revenue in June, however, fell below last year's numbers and were below forecasts.

DFA director Richard Weiss said the drop indicates that the state is going to face a tighter cash flow over the next six months. He said, however, that he doesn't see a need to change the state's forecast for the fiscal year.

Arkansas had previously built a $310 million surplus, a third of which lawmakers set aside to pay for expected shortfalls in this year's budget.

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