Back Home About Us Contact Us
Town Charters
Seniors
Federal Budget
Ethics
Hall of Shame
Education
Unions
Binding Arbitration
State - Budget
Local - Budget
Prevailing Wage
Jobs
Health Care
Referendum
Eminent Domain
Group Homes
Consortium
TABOR
Editorials
Tax Talk
Press Releases
Find Representatives
Web Sites
Media
CT Taxpayer Groups
 
Home
15 Days Since the November 4, 2014 Election

 

 

State Treasurer Nappier Brings Out the Flaws

in Governor Malloy’s Just Released Budget 

 

***************

 

 

Check Out the Federation’s

 

CURE TO END

 

THE ‘TAX ME NO MORE’ BLUES

 

 

***************

 

Also Check Out the State’s Latest Fiscal Accountability Report and

State Employee Salaries and Pensions Driving the State’s Debt and Taxes  

 

 

***************

 

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 ...

 

 

 

**********

 

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

 

 

**********

 

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.

 

**********

 

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?

 

 

********