The CT Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/category/budget-economy/)
The Connecticut Mirror provides comprehensive coverage of the state and federal budgets as well as Connecticut’s economy. Find all of our stories on those topics here.
For a deeper look at Connecticut’s state budget crisis, read Keith Phaneuf’s acclaimed five-part series, “A Legacy of Debt.”
With no state budget in place for the current fiscal year – and the school year quickly approaching – uncertainty had surrounded whether the state would provide the money it promised district leaders when they expanded or opened new preschool classrooms over the last two school years. Continue Reading →
State aid to municipalities largely has been spared cuts over the last decade – and has even been increased in some years – even though the state has regularly faced budget deficits. Now it’s time for some municipalities to share in the pain, the Malloy administration maintains. As the debate rages, here, in graphical form, are some key indicators of the fiscal condition of the state’s 169 cities and towns and how they are spending their money. Continue Reading →
Evidently resigned to a shrinking pool of state aid, leaders of two municipal associations pressed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Friday about granting Connecticut’s cities and town flexibility in dealing with public employees to achieve off-setting efficiencies, long a politically fraught topic at the State Capitol. Continue Reading →
Connecticut remains without a budget six weeks into the new fiscal year, but by law officials must still move forward with the state’s 17th-annual sales tax holiday later this month. The Department of Revenue Services estimates the state will miss out on about $4.1 million in revenue. Continue Reading →
New bus service from Hartford to UConn underscores two things: One, going 41 days without a budget has not created a daily sense of crisis in Connecticut, where state offices, parks and beaches remain open. And two, not all spending is jeopardized by ongoing talks seeking sufficient spending cuts and revenue increases to close a $2.3 billion deficit. Continue Reading →
Call it a sign of desperation or a mark of creativity. One of the unconventional revenue-raising schemes considered by legislators in pursuit of an overdue budget would have Connecticut extract millions of dollars from Dominion Energy in return for legislation boosting the profitability of electricity generated by the company’s Millstone nuclear power plant. Continue Reading →
One of the leading municipal advocates says the House Democrats’ plan to boost the sales tax to aid cities and towns is flawed — and would be opposed by most mayors and first selectmen. Continue Reading →
Though moderate Democratic legislators unenthusiastically helped ratify union concessions, the fiscal reforms they want in return may hinge on whether moderates also will tolerate a sales tax increase. Continue Reading →
After a month without an adopted budget, the first round of cuts to human services agencies across state government took effect Tuesday. Much of the lost funding goes to nonprofit organizations the state contracts with to provide services to the mentally ill, the disabled, the poor, and those leaving prison. Continue Reading →
With the first day of school quickly approaching, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday he will use his executive authority to shift state school aid from more affluent towns to better shield poor districts from cuts. Continue Reading →
On a tie-breaking vote by Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, the Senate gave final approval Monday to a state-employee concessions deal after Democratic leaders mollified three dissenting colleagues with a promise to make a good-faith effort for fiscal reforms.
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The trio of Democratic state senators moved as a tight knot through the State Capitol and Legislative Office Building, their mood seeming light when a reporter tried to press them on what comes next should they vote today to reject a state-employee concessions deal worth $1.57 billion to Connecticut’s overdue two-year budget. Yes, they can kill the deal, but then what? Continue Reading →
Attorney Sheldon V. Toubman of the New Haven Legal Assistance Association is one of Connecticut’s most ardent advocates for social services. In this week’s Sunday Conversation, he speaks with The Mirror about efforts of social service advocates to press for state tax increases to help close projected budget deficits and proposals to increase the income and sales taxes. Continue Reading →
As Connecticut begins its second month without a state budget next week, the cost to cities and towns will take a big leap, topping $100 million. Continue Reading →
A formal opinion released Thursday by Attorney General George Jepsen warns of legal peril in rewriting state-employee contracts through legislation, but notes the free hand legislators have after contracts expire and the flexibility the courts have granted in some cases in the event of extreme fiscal emergencies. Continue Reading →