A Closer Look At The State Budget Process
A Closer Look At The
State Budget Process
To the Editor:
Mr Catalinaâs letter [of endorsement] last week unjustly lays the blame on one party in Hartford. It is impossible to ignore the role the Republican governor and minority leadership played in the budget situation we faced last year.
On February 4, 2009, the Republican governor introduced her first budget, which accounted for a deficit $2 billion less than the actual amount. On April 2, the Appropriations and Finance Committees (chaired by Democrats in the majority party) recognized the actual deficit. They proposed balancing the budget with over $2 billion in cuts and a tax increase on higher incomes, which the governor eventually proposed four months later. The initial proposal from the Democrats did not include any borrowing.
In May, the governorâs second budget still underestimated the deficit. The governor turned to additional cuts, revenue increases, and increased borrowing.
Due to the Republican governorâs inability to even acknowledge the size of the deficit, the legislature was forced to pass Consensus Revenue legislation. It required both the Appropriations/Finance Committees and the governorâs office to agree on the actual deficit. On June 4, rather than coming to the table to address the problem, the governor vetoed the legislation. The Democrats in the Legislature later overrode the veto of Consensus Revenue legislation, requiring the committees and the governorâs office to prepare new budget documents to acknowledge the actual deficit amount.
The legislature passed a budget, introduced by Democrats, on June 25, including $2.4 billion in cuts, and $2.5 billion in revenue increases, which incorporated the governorâs initial revenue plan. The governor vetoed it.
The governorâs third budget included additional cuts. According to the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, this put state servicesâ funding $3.6 billion below current funding, in a time when people need these services most. It also included revenue increases.
Finally, in the governorâs fourth budget, she put out a press release and agreed to raise the income tax on couples earning more than $1 million. According to the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, this affects less than two percent of the filers in Newtown.
As a result of negotiations with the governor, the House and Senate passed a budget in August, which included over $3 billion in cuts, over $1 billion in new revenues, and approximately $1.3 billion in securitization. After its passage, the governor realized she did not have line item veto power, and rather than signing the budget she negotiated, allowed it to become law without her signature.
Time and time again, the Republican governor and Republican leadership refused to even come to the table and discuss the reality of the problem.
I thank the Democratic leadership for stepping up to the challenge. They understood the importance of protecting critical programs, maintaining aid to towns, keeping libraries and universities open, and ensuring services were there for people who needed them. To blame them is irresponsible. So while the biennium budget was a negotiated document, neither the governor nor the people of Connecticut walked away with everything they wanted.
Mike Kelley
21 Bridge End Farm Lane, Sandy Hook                October 13, 2010