State Treasurer Nappier Brings Out the Flaws
in Governor Malloy’s Just Released
Budget
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Check Out the Federation’s
CURE TO END
THE ‘TAX ME NO MORE’ BLUES
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Also Check Out the State’s Latest Fiscal
Accountability Report and
State Employee Salaries and Pensions
Driving the State’s Debt and Taxes
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February 21, 2015
From: The Federation of Connecticut
Taxpayer Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep, President
Website:
http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
When the State’s Treasurer blasts Gov. Malloy with a - I Got
a Problem with Your Budget - press release,
folks, you have to know, trouble is on the horizon for Connecticut taxpayers,
businesses, and those investing in our state.
As the Governor’s budget needs $300M in borrowing to stay in balance, and shoppers are going to have to go on a spending spree
as Malloy plan pumps up tax receipts by more than $800 million, it appears the smoke and mirrors budget as released by
Malloy this week is also flawed in other ways according State Treasurer Denise
Nappier who has to be given credit for telling it like it is.
The following is an excerpt from Nappier’s February 20th Letter to Governor Dannel P. Malloy
concerning debt service expenditures in his proposed FY 2016/2017 State Budget in which she notes: “A key difference is that your proposed
budget, as submitted, projects bond premiums before these amounts have been
realized. “Your proposed budget reflects
general fund debt service expenditures that are $152.7 million and $172.5
million before the current estimates of my Office for Fiscal Years 2016 and
2017, respectively, which, taken together, represents a reduction of $325.2
million, or approximately 7.6%
“Fortunately, bond sales results this spring are likely to narrow these
differences before the final resolution of the next biennial budget.”
CTmirror.org provides further insight into this issue in
their article captioned …
Treasurer: Malloy plan could harm state’s reputation with investors
And property owners, who rely on state aid to offset their local
property taxes, as they now pay the second highest property taxes in the nation,
could be catapulted to Number 1 as the
Governor would cancel some town aid, other grants to close
this year’s deficit.
And we knew we were in trouble when we read ….
CT News Junkie | Funding Ratio Falls for State Employee... where Christine Stuart writes “The most recent actuarial
valuation of the pension funds showed that as of June 30, 2012, the State Employees’ Retirement System was funded at
42.3 percent. “But by 2014 it was funded at 41.5 percent. “That means the State
Employees’ Retirement System has about $10.5 billion worth of assets, which is
enough to cover 41.5 percent of the $21 billion in liabilities. “Experts say an
80 percent funding level is considered healthy”, and
CTMirror.org extensive reports within Behind the
Numbers -
Go behind the number with our budget reporter, Keith M.
Phaneuf, as he takes the complicated and nuanced state budget and breaks it
down in our two new features: 5 things and the Behind The Number podcast.
and
And the Day of New
London Newspaper which wrote The Day - Beware of fine print on Malloy plan to cut sales
tax ...
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But the Governor and his staff knew of
Connecticut’s Crisis with the
release
Of the State’s latest
Fiscal Accountability Report
The report notes the following
The State’s long term debt
obligations total
SIXTY EIGHT ($68) BILLION
DOLLARS
As the following chart illustrates, the
majority of these costs
are driven by State Retiree Costs, which you
can check out
below with many pensions well exceeding
$100,000 and as high as $250,000+
Connecticut's Unfunded Liabilities
|
$$$$ in Billions
|
Debt Outstanding
|
21.3
|
State Employee Retirement
System (SERS)
|
12.3
|
Teachers’ Retirement System
|
10.8
|
State Post Employment Health
and Life
|
19.5
|
Teachers’ Post Employment
Health
|
2.4
|
Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles Deficit
|
1.1
|
TOTAL
|
$68.4 Billion
|
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The projected state deficit
for
Fiscal Year 2016 is $1.3
billion.
Fiscal Year 2017 is $1.4
billion.
Fiscal Year 2018 is $1.3
billion.
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It has Been Only Four Months Since the
November, 2014 Election!
AND ONLY RECENTLY
DID
CONNECTICUT TAXPAYERS & VOTERS
LEARN THE
FULL EXTENT OF
CONNECTICUT’S FISCAL CRISIS
As Malloy spends millions on Raises for his Appointees, CTNewsJunkie.com reports that Ben Barnes, Connecticut’s
State Budget Director Warns of ‘Very Treacherous Terrain’...Ahead. Barnes
further noted “the spending everyone
cares about in the budget, such as spending on children and education, are
falling behind because mandated spending in other areas of the budget, such as
pensions and debt service, are eclipsing them. “About 25 percent of the $17.5
billion 2015 general fund budget goes toward the state’s contractual or legally
obligated fixed costs. “That includes debt service, which is 9 percent of the
budget at $1.6 billion. “Another fixed cost is the annually required
contribution to the state employee pension fund, which is 5.6 percent of the budget
at $970 million. ‘There also is the teacher’s pension, which is $1.18 billion”.
On Feb 18, 2015, as Malloy was looking at Tolls to mitigate
Connecticut’s fiscal crisis, it was reported that Ex-aide to Conn. governor reportedly hired by highway toll
operator. What a coincidence!
A visit to
the State’s Transparency Connecticut website provides insight into the salaries and pensions taxpayers
are paying our State employees/retirees which are driven by state mandates to
include Collective Bargaining, Binding Arbitration and Prevailing Wage Laws.
In determining State Employee Salaries click Employee Compensation - Transparency Connecticut. Then click Advanced Search . Then go to the bottom of the page and click Search. Next, go to the last column captioned Total and click twice. This will give you the highest to the lowest
salaries/benefits being paid to include employee names. Brace yourself. You will be shocked.
In determining State Employee Pensions click Pensions - Transparency Connecticut - CT.gov. Then go to the
bottom of the page and click Search. Next, go to the
last column heading Total and click twice. This will give you
the highest to the lowest pensions being paid and the name of the
employee. Brace yourself. Here too you will be shocked.
But one good thing coming out of Malloy’s office is
extending Liquor Sale Hours in Connecticut as we live in the second highest
property taxed state in the nation.
But other than a stiff drink there is a
A CURE TO END
THE ‘TAX ME NO MORE’ BLUES
Taxpayers in Connecticut
have become the victims of increasing State and local property taxes. Many are on life support as their money is
being sucked out of their earnings and savings leaving some physicians in doubt
of the taxpayers’ ability to get back on their feet.
But there is a cure.
And for taxpayers it is easy to swallow. But some in Connecticut are trying to keep the life
sustaining drug from finding its way to the market.
That drug would eliminate or reform State imposed mandates
which are now driving a myriad of state taxes.
Also impacted are local property taxes, as some honest, hard working Connecticut residents cannot
afford to pay the second highest property taxes in the nation and are being
forced out of their homes through tax lien sales.
The Mandates?
Collective Bargaining!
Binding Arbitration!
Prevailing Wage Laws!
These mandates have in essence turned the operations of
government over to public sector unions.
Under a cloak of secrecy, behind closed doors, union
contracts are negotiated and the terms ultimately set. When the door opens, the bill for those
contracts are assembled and mailed to the taxpayers who now pay, on a local
level, approximately 80% to 90% of their local property taxes for personnel
related expenses.
And under a quid-pro-quo system of you give to me, I give to
you, many state legislators are grateful to the public sector unions both in
campaign donations and at the polls while these same state legislators dig down
deep into taxpayer pockets to pay for the union’s support. And that support is generally found in State
and local wage and benefit increases for the public sector unions.
But let’s again reflect on the cure….
The Federation suggests that state and
municipal costs
could be controlled through
the elimination or reform of
State Mandates driving those
costs which include
Binding Arbitration,
Collective Bargaining and
Prevailing Wage Laws!
Is there at least one brave
state legislator who will
make such a proposal or is
everyone on the hill in
Hartford on the side of the Public
Sector Unions
who are draining the pockets
of Connecticut
taxpayers and local property
owners?
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