Budget

Nick on December 14th, 2009

Danbury mayor and possible gubernatorial candidate Mark Boughton, in his personal blog (which posts also to his widely-distributed Facebook page) says we’re on the brink.
Here is a news flash…the State of Connecticut is broke. Busted. Cleaned out.
Here is another news flash…it is not going to get any better anytime soon.
It is time that we all [...]

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Nick on December 9th, 2009

More hard choices coming up. These are only some of the first.
Chantal Kouoh’s voice cracked Tuesday as she said how disappointed she was to be shut out of a state-subsidized nurse-training program because of budget cuts.
“I feel like a part of my life is gone,” she said to an audience of other students, state legislators, [...]

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Nick on December 7th, 2009

Heath Fahle at Connecticut Local Politics summarizes our State’s problem as only a taciturn New Englander can do: we have no money.

Continue reading about What’s Connecticut’s problem?

Nick on November 27th, 2009

Governor Rell is proposing steps to reduce the budget gap:
In an attempt to halt the 2010 budget’s slide into deficit, Gov. M. Jodi Rell released a $337 million package of proposed budget cuts Tuesday afternoon, slashing funding to programs for the poor and sick, local governments and state agencies….
“It is deeply painful even to suggest [...]

Continue reading about Passing it down to the towns

Nick on November 20th, 2009

According to this non-partisan State report, you are in trouble.

Will a tax revolt this be the ultimate trickle-down economic effect? Revenue is drying up not only at the Federal level but is now doing so, as was inevitable, at the State and local levels. I’ll go out on a limb and predict that the local [...]

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Governor Rell will allow the budget which has been passed by the Legislature to take effect. From Mrs. Rell’s press release:
“Democrats have repeatedly called this budget a ‘compromise,’” Governor Rell said. “It is hardly a compromise. Last week I put a new budget proposal on the table – my fourth – in which I accepted [...]

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Still operating without a budget, but at least the two sides are agreed on the size of the budget deficit. From the Courant:
It’s $8.558 billion — which is different from the $8.7 billion that was originally projected by the legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal office and far different from Rell’s original $6 billion estimate.
Even though the two [...]

Continue reading about Rell, Legislators agree on deficit – will progress follow?

Nick on July 1st, 2009

Governor Rell has signed an Executive Order (read here as a PDF) which keeps the State running. Quoted in the Courant, Mrs. Rell said,
Rell said Tuesday that while the negotiations continue, “first and foremost, people should rest assured that state government will continue to operate — services will be delivered; we will care for the [...]

Continue reading about No budget resolution in sight

Nick on June 28th, 2009

More meetings to come on Monday, and the current fiscal year ends Tuesday. Remember to pray for the State budget and deficit. More here from WCBS radio:
No Deal after Three Hour Meeting on Connecticut Budget.

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Nick on June 16th, 2009

Power Line reports on the budget controversy in Minnesota, where the fur is flying.
Republicans are out of power in Washington and many other places around the country. They’re out of power here in Minnesota, too, except for Governor Tim Pawlenty. But in this case, one man has been enough–Pawlenty has faced down the Democrats and [...]

Continue reading about State budget battle heating up