Nearly three-quarters of the men incarcerated on weapons charges in Connecticut are likely to be arrested again within three years, and nearly half serve a new sentence, according to a new study by the state Office of Policy and Management. The report, prepared for the state’s Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission, also found that two-thirds […]

ROCKY HILL — Though many economists say Connecticut is slowly beginning to cover, most businesses here don’t expect to do so until 2011 or 2012, according to the state business lobby’s latest annual survey. The Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s ninth annual Survey of Connecticut Businesses also found poor sales, fears about state government’s fiscal instability […]

STAMFORD – The nation’s economic comeback has hit a lull, and by next year Connecticut may follow suit, University of Connecticut economists warn. Connecticut will have gained 20,000 jobs by year’s end, according to projections by contributors to The Connecticut Economy, the university’s quarterly economic review. But job growth in 2011 might top out at […]

A 1995 decision to cut short-term pension costs has come back to haunt officials trying to bring fiscal stability to retirement benefits. To achieve immediate savings back then, state officials and public employee unions agreed to put the state employee pension program on what amounts to a balloon mortgage schedule. As a result, the state’s […]

STAMFORD–Gubernatorial candidates Tom Foley and Dan Malloy agreed Wednesday that state government’s  fiscal and business policies have weakened Connecticut’s economy, but differed over who has the right strategy to fix the problem. In dueling appearances before private business leaders at the University of Connecticut’s Stamford branch, Foley charged his Democratic opponent with striking a secret bargain with […]

The state income tax has dominated legislative revenue debates since its controversial enactment nearly two decades ago. But the sales tax, whose base rate of 6 percent hasn’t changed since that watershed debate in 1991, may be back in the spotlight next year as politicians begin the task of closing the largest projected budget deficit […]

Connecticut’s prison population stood poised Tuesday to record its fourth consecutive monthly increase, a trend likely to put a damper hopes that a prison closure could help balance the state’s budget. The latest surge in the inmate population, which approached 18,600 Tuesday, was attributed largely to an unanticipated jump in the number of unsentenced prisoners. […]

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman certified a $60 million-plus deficit this afternoon for the new fiscal year, even as she closed the books last year with a final surplus of nearly $450 million. The $63.4 million deficit for the $19.01 billion budget launched on July 1 stems from modest growth in income and sales tax offset […]

Though state government’s impending fiscal woes are well-documented, a new report shows local schools also face a financial hit 10 months from now that could reverse efforts to increase education assistance. In a briefing to candidates for state office, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities also noted that non-education programs have dwindled to to what CCM […]

State government’s $19.01 billion budget is $63.4 million in deficit, just seven weeks into the new fiscal year, due to a shortfall in anticipated federal funding and higher than expected demand for social services, Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s budget office reported today. But mixed amid the bad news are higher than expected income and sales […]

Optimistic assumptions about federal aid and social service caseloads came back to haunt state officials Friday as Connecticut’s $19.01 billion budget, barely out of the gate, stumbled more than $60 million into deficit. In its first budget forecast since the fiscal year began July 1, Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration reported rising income and sales […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s deputy budget director unveiled a new plan Thursday to shave $300 million off annual pension costs by boosting worker contribution rates, raising retirement ages and developing a new 401(k)-style retirement plan for new employees. The proposals, offered to the governor’s Post Employment Benefits Commission, were part of a larger plan to […]

Nearly 25 percent of Connecticut’s Democrats and 30 percent of Republicans cast ballots in the Aug. 10 primaries, according to final statistics released this afternoon by Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. The turnout for last week’s contests, which included a Republican primary for U.S. Senate, GOP and Democratic gubernatorial primaries, and major party races […]

State government’s new contract watchdog agency is one of many that have faced budget cuts in recent years. But key state lawmakers now are questioning whether the decision to effectively strip the Contracting Standards Board of all funding this fiscal year is costing more money than it’s saving. “This was one of those penny-wise and […]