Ben Barnes News and In-Depth Reporting

Report: State agencies cut overtime costs by $37 million in FY16

by Kyle Constable August 9, 2016 @ 1:40 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:59 pm

Updated at 3:48 p.m.
After releasing an initial report last month showing significant savings in overtime costs, the legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal analysts announced Tuesday that state agencies spent about $37.1 million less on overtime in the fiscal year that ended in June than in the year before.

Politics

CT lawmakers say Boehner’s resignation cuts shutdown odds, but threat remains

by Ana Radelat September 25, 2015 @ 4:07 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:41 pm

WASHINGTON – House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to resign may have lessened the prospects of a government shutdown, but that won’t be known for sure until Congress considers a short-term spending bill next week. Meanwhile, Connecticut agencies have been told to draw up contingency plans.

CT Viewpoints

Legislators need good input to make best decisions for DDS

by Nicolette Kerns April 27, 2015 @ 5:30 amMarch 4, 2022 @ 11:49 pm

Over the next two years the Gov. Dannel Malloy’s budget will impose Draconian cuts of $89 million on the Department of Developmental Disabilities Services specific to supported living, family supports, employment and new high school graduates’ support. Legislators need an open exchange of information from state commissioners — not a gag order — to make the best decisions possible for DDS client families and others.

Money, Politics

CT spending cap is unique and, some critics say, among the toughest

by Ana Radelat April 20, 2015 @ 5:32 amMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:37 pm

Like about half of the states in the nation, Connecticut has imposed a cap on the amount of money the state government can spend. But each state has approached the problem of controlling the spending habits of its governors and legislature differently, and Connecticut’s spending cap is unique in a number of ways.

Money, Politics

The Malloy solution: Deep cuts, new tax revenue, deferred promises

by Mark Pazniokas and Keith M. Phaneuf February 18, 2015 @ 5:15 amMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:35 pm

The biennial budget Gov. Dannel P. Malloy intends to propose today would erase a two-year, $2.5 billion shortfall with $1.6 billion in spending cuts and $900 million in additional revenue, an attempt to say he is equitably spreading pain while keeping a pledge not to raise taxes. Malloy, a Democrat re-elected last fall, is proposing a three-pronged approach to his second fiscal crisis in four years: deep spending cuts, combined with additional revenue raised by deferring promised tax cuts and boosting tax receipts without changing rates.

Money, Politics

Barnes tells advocates for poor, kids: Brace for lean budget

by Keith M. Phaneuf February 3, 2015 @ 1:14 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:35 pm

Benjamin Barnes, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget director, warned advocates for children, the poor and other disadvantage citizens to brace for lean funding when the administration releases its next budget in two weeks.

Money, Politics

Malloy, GOP leader and press do photo op lunch

by Mark Pazniokas and Keith M. Phaneuf January 23, 2015 @ 2:00 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:33 pm

Answering a dare and a double dare to sit and talk about deficit projections, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, each accompanied by fiscal advisers, dined in a public cafeteria Friday, surrounded by a tight circle of aides, reporters, photographers and cops.

Politics

Malloy appointees get holiday raises of up to 12%

by Mark Pazniokas December 23, 2014 @ 5:03 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:32 pm

The holidays will be a little merrier for about 200 appointees of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other constitutional officers: They are getting raises ranging from three percent to 12 percent at an annual cost of $1.4 million.

Politics

Administration removes Yelmini as labor-relations chief

by Mark Pazniokas November 21, 2014 @ 4:55 pmMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:29 pm

The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy abruptly notified Linda J. Yelmini, the state’s longtime director of labor relations, that she is being laid off, leaving surprised union leaders to wonder what the move signals in Malloy’s approach to labor.

Money, Politics

McKinney vs. Barnes: Apples & oranges, busway & bridges

by Mark Pazniokas June 12, 2014 @ 5:56 pmAugust 3, 2022 @ 4:11 pm

Sen. John P. McKinney, a Republican candidate for governor, linked the state’s failure to maintain a Norwalk rail bridge Thursday to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s decision to greenlight construction of the Hartford to New Britain busway.
The governor’s secretary of the policy and management, Ben Barnes, said the Senate minority leader was comparing apples to oranges.

Government

Connecticut moves openly toward more data transparency

by CT Mirror StaffMarch 3, 2014 @ 12:21 pmFebruary 6, 2023 @ 1:13 pm

Some state employees will soon have to move to another building — but there’s one thing they won’t be allowed to bring with them: paper.

Money, Politics

Governor’s budget chief to town leaders: No cuts in state aid expected next year

by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas December 23, 2013 @ 12:00 amMarch 4, 2022 @ 10:14 pm

Ben Barnes, the governor’s budget chief, has told municipal leaders not to expect any cuts in state funding for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1.