As reprinted from 02/16/2010

Arizona's checkbook: `scary' at best

PHOENIX -- If your personal checking account looked like Arizona's, you'd be sick about it.

Now, you can see the state's checkbook online.

It wasn't looking good Tuesday.

"The state is $464 million in the red," said State Treasurer Dean Martin as he unveiled the Web site azcheckbook.com.

Martin, who has announced he will challenge Gov. Jan Brewer in the Republican primary this fall, said the site is "where you can track the daily status of the state's spending. The daily checkbook, basically, you can take a look at this and see exactly where the checkbook stands."

You can also track how much money is taken in from all sources, including the federal government.

The checkbook site even breaks down the payrolls of individual agencies.

"As you can see here, the largest basic payroll is actually DES (the Department of Economic Security)," said Martin.

He said his office had "no appropriation for this, no funding for this, we just did it in our spare time basically."

Asked how he would feel if his checkbook looked like the state's, Martin replied, "It would be scary, to say the least."

Jim Cross , News-Talk 92.3 KTAR