From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer
Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep,
President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-524-6501
February 5, 2009
Please
send to your family, friends and business associates
Governor
Rell's Budget Address
(Watch Gov. Rell's
Speech)
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Layoffs in January, 2009 expected to reach 700,000. The unemployment rate — now at 7.2 percent —
is expected to jump to 7.5 percent, a 17-year peak. http://www.courant.com/business/hc-economy0204.artfeb04,0,6495034.story
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Suspend
Binding Arbitration requirements
for two years. At the end of the two-year suspension, limit mandatory subjects
of binding arbitration to salaries and
benefits only. This will in turn allow Towns and Boards of Education to
better manage their budgets and control property taxes.
- Governor
Rell’s Initiatives to shrink government
- It starts with fewer
state agencies. My budget eliminates 10 of them. All serve worthy purposes
on paper, but all have functions largely duplicated by regular state
agencies.
-
- My budget also
eliminates 10 other agencies through logical consolidations. Stand-alone
entities are simply not needed.
-
- More than 300 boards and
commissions have been established by executive order or legislative or
judicial fiat. ...budget eliminates 70 of these and merges others. We’re
reducing the bloat of bureaucracy and making do with less.
-
- Cuts to fleet of state
cars by 20 percent. State cars are not an entitlement. If an employee
doesn’t really need one, he or she won’t have one.
-
- And we can do with fewer
laws on the books. ... take 130 unnecessary laws
off the books.
-
-Cancellation of state bond authorizations of hundreds of projects, mostly earmark projects, totaling
almost $400 million.
- Putting a
hold on construction at UConn and our state colleges and universities to save debt costs.
- Repeal or
modify a host of state and municipal mandates. ... First, no costly new mandate should be allowed without a two-thirds
vote of the Legislature. Second, we should suspend for two years the so-called
“raise-the-age” law and the new in-school suspension law.
- Suspension
of binding arbitration requirements for two
years while we confront our economic troubles. At the end of the two-year
suspension, I propose that we limit mandatory subjects of binding arbitration to
salaries and benefits only – not scheduling, the size of parking spaces,
picnics and parties on state time and the dozens of other subjects currently
included.
- Flat funds – state aid to municipalities for the next 2 years.
- No cuts to
education aid. No cuts to any state grant
program. None.
- Help
cities and towns through regionalism, a
much discussed concept that must finally be put into action. Municipalities can
and should cut costs by sharing – sharing equipment, facilities, schools,
personnel and more.
- Budget provides $40 million in new grants for infrastructure and equipment for municipalities that want to join together
to provide services like recycling, tax collection and payroll. And a new $10
million grant will be available to purchase shared equipment – snow plows, dump
trucks, garbage trucks. .. LOCIP and TAR – will be adjusted, at current funding
levels, to provide 10 percent bonuses to those towns which join together on
regionally beneficial programs.
- Reform of
our probate court system... overhaul that
will reduce the number of courts, improve services and increase the hours of
operation.
- Creating
an Office of Accountability and asking each
state agency to appoint an Accountability Officer... will be responsible for
detecting – up front – fraud and waste by personnel and in the use of state
property. They will ensure that resources, including cars, phones and
computers, are used for legitimate purposes.
- Budget will include an additional $1.7 million in new monies to expand elderly nutrition
programs, including home delivery and congregate meals, as well as
for stocking food pantries and shelters around the state. ... expanding eligibility for federal food assistance so as to
help an additional 19,000 people.
- Setting aside $7.5 million in the budget to bring back the concept of Civilian Conservation
Corps...Connecticut Conservation Corps would hire people in need of work, particularly those with
dependents, and pay them a decent wage to help with projects such as cleaning
beaches and clearing trails at state parks ... put it into place by July 1.
- We cannot
raise taxes on employers at this time. ...
If we hold firm and neighboring states raise business taxes, as they are
talking about doing, then we will be at a competitive advantage very quickly.
- “Green
collar jobs”. Engineers, plumbers,
chemists, scientists, HVAC technicians and builders all will benefit in a clean
and green future.... introduce green principles into education, manufacturing,
engineering and other aspects of business and industry... focus on specialized
green job training.
- Expanding
our bottle bill law to include
non-carbonated beverages like water.
- Overhaul
of the state’s business agencies – bringing
all of our efforts, from start-up financing to business recruitment, the arts,
tourism and film programs, under unified leadership at DECD – the Department of
Economic and Community Development. DECD to take over responsibility for the
Small Business Innovation Research program and the variety of state programs
intended to encourage the development and clean-up of brownfields.
- Combine
our two financing agencies – the
Connecticut Development Authority and Connecticut Innovations – into the new
Connecticut Economic Innovations Authority... eliminate duplication of
services, ease confusion among business leaders about where to go to for help
and untangle the variety of agencies, acronyms and applications that slow the
process of job creation.
- Merge the vo-tech high school and community college systems, together with the state’s Office of Workforce
Competitiveness, to create the Middle College System – a system of coordinated
academic programs that bridge the gap between high school and higher education,
allowing students to earn 60 college credits within five years of starting high
school...would have access to state-of-the-art facilities and gain college-level
experience tuition free.
"To State employees: You are not the reason, not the cause, of our economic
troubles. But you must be a part of the solution – and sooner rather than
later.
Overall: Doing more with less. Making government
more affordable. No tax increases. No cuts to state aid. Mandate reform.
Probate reform. Green collar jobs.
Regionalization. Food and job
assistance. A new Middle College
system.
To those who would disparage or dismiss the cuts or reforms my budget
contains: You have that right. But you also have the obligation to put your
specific alternatives on the public table – and to do so soon."
Y2010 – FY2011 BIENNIUM
GOVERNOR’S BUDGET
GOVERNOR’S BUDGET
GOVERNOR RELL'S BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
GOVERNOR’S BUDGET SUMMARY
ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE GOVERNOR
THREE YEAR FORECAST
MUNICIPAL AID
PREVENTION BUDGET
SLIDE PRESENTATION
