In a noxious national political climate in which politicians have learned not to tell it like it is, but to tell it like they want people to believe it is, Gov M. Jodi Rell is a breath of fresh air.
In a noxious national political climate in which politicians have learned not to tell it like it is, but to tell it like they want people to believe it is, Gov M. Jodi Rell is a breath of fresh air.
Her budget message to state lawmakers last week acknowledged several difficult fiscal realities facing the state, and urged the Legislature to join her in taking responsibility for closing a $1.2 billion budget gap. Then she did something gutsy. She announced up front that the people of Connecticut would be paying more taxes under her budget plan â more taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and gasoline.
When Democratic lawmakers predictably complained that the new tax burden would fall unfairly on middle- and lower-income residents, and renewed their call for raising income taxes for those making $1 million or more a year, the governor called their bluff, agreeing to consider the tax in return for flexibility from the opposition in their persistent affinity for spending programs. Mrs Rellâs plan covers about 54 percent of the budget gap through spending cuts. âIf that [millionaireâs] tax is on the table, we better have cuts on the table,â she told the Associated Press Managing Editors Association this week.
The governor is not getting any help in her efforts to bring a new era of fiscal responsibility to the state from the Bush Administration, which apparently believes in trickle down responsibility without trickle down funds. The Presidentâs national budget plan, if approved by Congress, will reduce discretionary federal funding to Connecticut by an estimated $105 million, cutting or eliminating various grants to the state for homeland security, criminal justice, preventative health programs, vocational education, and other programs. Preliminary figures from the Bush Administration, which is dedicated to maintaining large tax cuts and costly military operations at the same time, also suggest that federal funds passed through to towns and cities may also be eliminated. The President is also said to be considering a cap on federal reimbursements for state Medicaid expenses, which would put further pressure on the state.
To her credit, Gov Rell is not trying to balance the state budget on the backs of the towns and cities. An analysis of the governorâs budget plan prepared by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities shows that Newtownâs share of state funding for education and other expenses will increase by 2.8 percent, or $176,386, in 2005-2006. It is not a big increase, but it signals the town and its beleaguered property taxpayers that they have a responsible partner in the governorâs office.