Preparation for and cleanup after Tropical Storm Irene is likely to drive up state employee overtime pay–particularly in transportation, emergency management and public safety agencies–but Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget director said Monday that the goal of spending less than last year’s $300 million overtime allocation across all state government is still achievable. “I’m sure […]

As municipal leaders across Connecticut complained Monday afternoon that utility restoration work from Tropical Storm Irene is proceeding  too slowly, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy pressed federal authorities to help direct more out-of-state repair crews here. Representatives of both major utility companies insisted they have mobilized as much out-of-state assistance as possible to date, though more […]

The state’s utility regulatory agency kept an engineer on the payroll for six years with “almost no work” after a disciplinary incident that led to a brief suspension in 2003, followed by the employee’s repeated and fruitless requests for work after his reinstatement, according to documents obtained by The Mirror. A labor arbitrator concluded that […]

Hartford Superior Court Judge James Graham refused Wednesday night to grant a request by the Connecticut State Police Union for a temporary injunction stopping layoffs of 56 troopers, including 34 who will lose their jobs at midnight. And while a union spokesman pledged the bargaining unit would continue the legal challenge to the layoffs, Gov. […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said today he will lay off 56 new state troopers and 23 correction supervisors represented by the only two bargaining units to reject elements of a concession deal that would have provided job security for four years. And while Malloy insisted that the public would not feel the impact of the […]

State government will rely on income taxes more than ever to finance operations this year, but its revenue collection agency has less than 70 percent of the staff it did when the tax was enacted 20 years ago and could lose several dozen more positions this year. Kevin B. Sullivan, the commissioner of revenue services, […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had his moment of solidarity with state employee unions last week as a two-year concessions package won approval by a wide margin, but that unity began to erode Monday as unions representing state police and prison guards staged separate protests. Troopers insisted Monday that their “unique” status as public safety employees […]

With state employee unions about to enter the final week of voting on concessions, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration Friday stepped up the pressure with its first explicit statement that layoffs will continue in bargaining units that don’t agree to wage freezes–even if the overall package of health and benefit givebacks is approved. Malloy’s budget […]

If unionized state employees reject concessions a second time, it could have repercussions beyond the deep cuts and layoffs Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered four weeks ago: It also could trigger a showdown between Malloy and the legislature over just how much authority the governor has to slash spending. Did lawmakers give Malloy unfettered authority […]

Connecticut is one of just seven states that has elevated spending above the levels budgeted before the recent recession, after adjustments for inflation and federal assistance are made, according to a recent study by a nonprofit fiscal policy think-tank. But the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities also reported that Connecticut has made […]

When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was announcing budget cuts in mid-July that would close prisons, courts, group homes, and agency offices, cut dozens of academic and social service programs, and eliminate 6,500 jobs, he said he couldn’t be dissuaded by union leaders scrambling to breathe new life into a dead concession package. Connecticut’s chief executive […]

Advocates for a more progressive state income tax won key battles in 2009 and again this spring as new top rates place even higher burdens on Connecticut’s wealthiest households. But that came with a price: Nearly 40 percent of the state’s chief revenue source now stems from a quarterly payment system that largely reflects the […]

State employees have never warmed to the idea of having to contribute a portion of their pay to help fund their retirement health care, and one of the arguments they make against it is the history of special accounts’ being used as a piggybank by legislators and governors when money is tight. But while all […]

The state Department of Motor Vehicles will delay planned closings of branch offices and other facilities in eight communities – and layoffs of department workers — until Aug 19 and 20 to await the results of a union concession vote that could make them unnecessary, according to a department statement released this afternoon. The announcement […]

Despite its reputation as an expensive place to do business, Connecticut’s state and local governments imposed the smallest tax burden last year of any state when compared with its economic output, according to a new study released by a trade group for major corporations. The survey prepared for the Council on State Taxation found that […]