A bipartisan budget deal has resulted in the state deficit being reduced by $220 million. Legislators say they were able to make the cuts without impacting towns and cities and also restoring some funds to hospitals.
However, there will still be state employee layoffs Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said after the vote.
A lot of the reduction comes from a one-time transfer of funds totalling $87.2 million. The rest come from a variety of cuts, large and small, in state spending for the fiscal year that ends June 30. The deficit could potentially grow this year depending on revenues from the state income tax due April 18.
Malloy said, after the budget deal passed, legislators from both chambers could relax for one day and then tackle the 2016-2017 budget, which has been projected to be short by $900 million.
The governor said there will still be substantial layoffs in “the not too distant future … There will be layoffs this fiscal year. There’s no way to balance next year’s budget without beginning that process June 9.” He added, “State government is going to be substantially smaller next year than it is this year … to accommodate the new economic reality.”
The governor also reiterated that there will be layoffs regardless of any concessions made by the state employee unions. He will not be able to make a no-layoff promise in exchange for concessions.
Among the larger cuts made to the state budget are:
- $14 million held in reserve for salary adjustments;
- $8 million in retired employees’ health costs in the comptroller’s budget;
- $3 million for changes in accruals in the comptroller’s budget;
- $2.5 million for statewide marketing in the Department of Economic and Community Development;
- $2 million from mastery testing in the Department of Education budget;
- $1.5 million for childcare services in the Office of Early Childhood;
- $1.5 million from the UConn operating budget;
- $1.1 million for the commissioner’s network in the Department of Education budget;
- $1.1 million in personal services for the Attorney General’s office;
- $1 million in personal services in the Department of Education;
- $1 million in Education Equalization Grants from the Department of Education budget;
- $1 million in savings in social security tax payments in the comptroller’s budget; and,
- $1 million for young adult services in Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
The new budget plan also cuts an additional $9 million from the judicial department, as well as an additional $1 million from the legislative budget. It will be up to each respective branch to determine how the cuts are made.
