Governor Signs $13.2 Billion Budget Into Law

By Susan Haigh

Associated Press

HARTFORD –– Governor John G. Rowland signed a revised $13.2 billion state budget into law Monday, ending months of political wrangling and uncertainty.

On the first day of the new fiscal year, Rowland admitted it was a difficult budget to craft, given the state’s financial problems and weakening revenues. But the Republican governor said it puts Connecticut on a more solid financial footing than other states.

Gov Rowland also said some legislators and special interest groups are overstating the spending reductions included in the new blueprint.

The budget deal cuts spending by $305 million, including a $24.3 million reduction in municipal aid and a five percent across-the-board cut to state universities and colleges. But many reductions were actually cuts in planned increases, Gov Rowland said.

This budget represents an increase of $270 million, or 2.5 percent, in spending over the last fiscal year, he said.

“Part of the game is what we coulda, shoulda, woulda gotten,” Gov Rowland said of the groups complaining about reductions. “For the most part, people pretty much either got what they got last year or even got an increase ... you have to read into the arguing.”

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the state’s largest lobbying organization for cities and towns, claims the cut in municipal aid exacerbates the fiscal problems local officials face. Virtually every city and town, according to CCM, has been forced to cut local services and raise property taxes.

“These new cuts make a bad situation even worse,” according to a statement released by CCM.

Aid for special education, local road repairs, public school transportation, priority and transitional school districts are among the grants reduced. The Education Cost Sharing grant, the largest portion of state aid to public schools, was unscathed.

The budget signed into law also covers some of the budget gap from the last fiscal year, transferring funds between accounts. Democratic State Comptroller Nancy Wyman announced Monday the old fiscal year is projected to end $827.8 million in the red. She will issue a final figure September 2.

Sluggish revenues from the income, sales, and corporate taxes are to blame, increasing Ms Wyman’s deficit projection from last month by $74 million.

“There are some positive economic signs emerging in our state’s economy right now, but they are not translating into higher revenues overall,” she said.

The new budget provides Gov Rowland with the power to make an additional $35 million in spending cuts if needed, increasing his power to make rescissions. The governor said Monday he will decide in the coming few months where those reductions will occur.