Gov. Chris Sununu’s budget balances the need to solve existing problems and to responsibly manage taxpayer dollars.

The most notable aspect of his budget is the overarching theme that one-time monies should only be used to pay for one-time expenses. Surplus funds are often seen as a green light to go on a spending spree with the potential for long-term and ongoing obligations.

However, the only prudent approach is to use them as an opportunity to address large projects that need only be paid for once.

Perhaps the best example is investment in infrastructure. In New Hampshire, we are in desperate need of a state psychiatric hospital and transitional housing to solve the Secure Psychiatric Unit conundrum and the emergency room waitlist. Property-poor communities are also in need of school building aid to upgrade their facilities for our children. Surplus funds to has been allocated to address each of these problems in the Governor’s budget, eliminating the need to spread the cost over multiple budgets.

Using one-time monies to initially fund ongoing expenses grows government and grows our tax burden. Even as the Democrat majorities in the legislature are looking to spend all we have and increase taxes to spend more still, Gov. Sununu has proposed a budget that doesn’t put my hard-earned money at risk – now, or in the near future, with new and ongoing state spending.