Rell, Democrats Opt To Stick With Old Budget
by Christine Stuart | May 2, 2008 7:18 PM
Posted to State Capitol
(Updated: 8:15 p.m.) The Democratic Majority and Gov. M. Jodi Rell have decided to live with the biennium budget they passed last year.
What does that mean?
It means no increases for nursing homes, no cost of living increases for community providers, and municipalities will have to live with the $69.6 million increase in state aid they were given last year. And what of the much discussed reforms for the criminal justice system? Rell says she’s found the money for that.
Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said that “not adopt new revenue figures is irresponsible.” He said times have changed and revenue figures have dramatically shifted in recent months.
At the beginning of the session in January lawmakers were tripping over themselves to give taxpayers back the projected $260 million surplus. Less than five months later the state is facing a $67.7 million deficit in 2008.
“Protecting and preserving is what we need to do,” Speaker of the House James Amann said Friday night.
Democrats will leave all the heavy lifting to Rell when it comes to balancing the budget.
“The governor told us she would veto anything with a fiscal note,” Amann said Friday.
He said he thinks Rell may have found about $5 million for the criminal justice reforms, which is about half the amount needed to fully implement the legislation. Rell said in a press conference later Friday night that she has found the $10 million to fully fund the legislation.
“The Governor has the right to balance this budget under the power this legislature has given her,” Amann said.
Rell said she has the authority to cut the budget by 3 percent, but cannot cut any one state agency by more than 5 percent and can’t cut any municipal aid.
The state still has about $1.4 billion in the Rainy Day fund.
Rell warned that the economy is already in, or is on the verge of, a recession and dark days lie ahead.
“The state needs to do what the families of Connecticut are already doing: Cutting back and doing without,” Rell said.
Click here to read the rest of Rell’s statement on the budget.
Republicans have said if the state offered an early retirement package to 4,200 state employees it could save $163 million and not have to tap into the Rainy Day fund. It’s unknown if the governor intends to tap into the Rainy Day fund to balance the budget. But even Rell’s Budget Secretary questioned the savings Republicans said could be realized by an early retirement package.
Comments (4)
Posted by: Derek Slap | May 2, 2008 11:33 PM
One note: Criminal justice reforms will be funded. Gov. Rell assured the legislature of that at a news conference just before 8PM. She had already said she found half the funding ($5 million) and there was little question that she could find an additional $5 million in an $18 billion budget.
Posted by: Ding Dong | May 4, 2008 10:11 PM
What the lawmakers in Hartford again fail to mention is that this is a tax hike for Connecticut residents. By continuing to underfund municipal aid obligations, failing to return to the levels achieved before the last recession, cities and towns which have barely been able to make things work in good finiancial times will now have to raise our property taxes, spend their fund balnace (important for bond ratings), under fund pensions or fire employees.
Posted by: Gary Doyens | May 5, 2008 2:35 PM
Ding Dong and other city hand-wringers:
Excuse me, but no amount of municipal aide will ever be enough to satisfy the big spenders at the city level. The state has pumped more than a billion dollars into the City of New Haven in the last several years. Not enough. The state taxpayers are footing the bulk of $1.5 billion in new schools - not enough. PILOT has escalated to $38 million a year for New Haven - not enough. The hidden sales tax on your home which was designed for cities and towns to help them temporarily balance their books on the short term - brought in millions of dollars on the backs of homeowners - is now permanent and higher and still it's not enough. You look at the projected budget from the Mayor DeStefano for next year - it is one big block of status quo - same old, same old. It now of course, absorbs the double digit pay increases for the mayor, his top LTs and of course, continues the practice of selling off taxpayer owned assets to balance his big spending even as he chronically underfunds pensions, lifetime health benefits and it's own insurance pool. Property tax increases this year are in the double digits. It's a total crock!
Do what families do - CUT THE SPENDING!!!
Posted by: ironman | June 3, 2008 3:41 PM
Gary Doyens is wrong as always. he makes up "facts" as he goes along his pathetic merry way while children are hungry and people lose their homes. he needs to spend some time doing something rather than just spewing lies and falsehoods.