State Surplus Reaches $159 Million, But It Won't Ease Budget
Woes
August 01, 2011|By DAN HAAR,
dhaar@courant.com, The Hartford
Courant
Even as economic storms gather, the state's projected
surplus for the fiscal year that ended June 30 has reached $158.9 million,
Comptroller Kevin Lembo said Monday, up from a
forecast of $85.5 million one month earlier.
The figure could climb further before the state closes its
books for fiscal 2011, as tax collections continue to outpace predictions.
The surplus, however, is already accounted for, to pay back
debt and future liabilities, Lembo said, so it will
not ease the budget woes of the current fiscal year.
Worse, the surplus occurs amid a declining jobs picture,
leading many officials to predict that the trend will not continue this year. Connecticut employers
cut nearly 10,000 jobs in May and June alone, and the jobless rate remains at
9.1 percent.
Without one-time shots such as $739.6 million in federal
stimulus money, the state would have had a deficit of more than $1 billion in
the recent fiscal year, Lembo said. And looking ahead, the ongoing federal budget stalemate — which
will not end regardless of the outcome of Monday night's scheduled vote on the
debt ceiling — could lead to cuts in federal aid to Connecticut.
"These economic uncertainties reinforce my position
that the state must plan for its own economic health and rebuild its Budget
Reserve Fund — or Rainy Day Fund," Lembo said in
a written release.
http://articles.courant.com/2011-08-01/business/hc-lembo-warning-20110801_1_comptroller-kevin-lembo-budget-woes-debt-ceiling