The state’s Judicial and Legislative branches have ordered nearly $7 million in spending cuts Gov. Dannel P. Malloy requested last month, relying heavily on hiring restrictions to reduce costs. And the state’s watchdog agencies also have agreed to find the 1 percent cuts Malloy asked for to help close a small mid-year deficit.
Money
Stories about Connecticut’s budget, the federal budget, jobs and employment, state investments and casinos.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Lembo confirms CT budget is $45M in the red after governor’s cuts
After applying Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s recent emergency budget cuts, state finances are on pace to finish nearly $45 million in deficit, Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo reported Monday.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics
CT spending cap threatens to squeeze education, other priorities in next budget
Though taxes and spending cuts dominate the debate over Connecticut’s budget deficit, the constitutional cap on spending is waiting in the wings for its turn. The 23-year-old cap has effectively begun to squeeze resources for education, transportation and other priorities and could also be a political thorn in the side of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his fellow Democrats in the General Assembly’s majority.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Is Malloy poised to put much of the budget deficit on CT’s credit card?
Though Gov. Dannel P. Malloy insists spending cuts will be used to close this year’s $100 million budget deficit, GOP lawmakers say the Democratic governor is poised to use a rarely publicized bonding tool to effectively close much of the shortfall with borrowing.
Posted inMoney
Malloy says new UTC leader committed to state
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday he was untroubled by the sudden rise of Gregory J. Hayes, who infamously denounced the Connecticut business climate to Wall Street investors in 2010, as the new chief executive of the state’s largest employer, United Technologies Corp.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy may run afoul of his pledges whether taxing or cutting
Governor Dannel P. Malloy faces plenty of critics who argue he can’t balance the next state budget without breaking his campaign pledge not to raise taxes. But Malloy will be equally hard pressed to close next year’s $1.3 billion-to-$1.4 billion deficit with spending cuts, given the many pledges and fiscal principles he has espoused since taking office four years ago.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics
Legislators delve into deficit, including its sudden appearance
The legislature’s two budget-writing panels grilled Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s fiscal staff Friday about the new state deficit – and the administration’s latest cuts to reduce it. Republican legislators focused, as expected, on why the $99 million shortfall Malloy reported last week wasn’t acknowledged before Election Day.
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Republican legislative leaders call for special session on deficit
The top Republican legislators in the General Assembly called Friday for a special session to balance the budget, charging Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office with disclosing only half of the true deficit facing the state.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy celebrates job gains on day marked by fiscal setbacks
The election is over, but Gov. Dannel P. Malloy did a little campaigning Thursday to promote another positive monthly jobs report that he says keeps Connecticut on track to complete its post-recession job recovery next year.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money
Malloy’s emergency budget cuts fall on social services, education
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered nearly $48 million in emergency budget cuts Thursday, imposing the deepest cuts on social services, education and culture and tourism promotion. The cuts, which do not require legislative approval, whittle the nearly $100 million deficit Malloy projected last week down to $45 million.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT gains jobs in October but unemployment rate remains fixed
Connecticut’s jobless rate remained fixed at 6.4 percent in October, despite the addition of about 3,600 new jobs, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday. The agency’s latest report also downgraded job growth estimates it had released two weeks before Election Day.
Posted inEducation, Money
Bonding approved for Sandy Hook school; cash flow woes downplayed
The State Bond Commission approved $5 million in financing Wednesday to plan and design a new elementary school for the Sandy Hook section of Newtown.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy: Tax breaks likely for consumers, teachers, poor — maybe not business
Despite the likelihood of deep spending cuts in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s next budget, the prospects of tax relief for consumers, retired teachers and the working poor are good. But for Connecticut’s businesses – not so much.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Are CT cities and towns no longer immune from state budget axe?
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy spared cities and towns from the state budget axe as he grappled with deficits for much of the past four years. But with sales tax receipts promised long ago to municipalities still lying in the state’s coffers, GOP legislative leaders are worried the Democratic governor’s days of sparing local taxpayers are over.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Budget chief: Some tax cuts may have to wait; CT colleges likely to face cuts
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget director acknowledged Monday there’s little likelihood all of the tax relief promised on the campaign trail can be provided in the next state budget, which faces a major deficit projection. And while the governor promised new tax relief for college graduates struggling with student loan debt, budget director Benjamin Barnes said Connecticut’s public colleges and universities probably won’t be spared emergency budget cuts due out this week.
