Unless a budget materializes soon, Connecticut is on track to end fiscal 2018 with a deficit of $93.9 million under the provisions the governor’s executive order, Comptroller Kevin Lembo said Friday.
In a letter to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lembo said the administration’s control of discretionary spending in the absence of a budget should allow him to achieve his targets, but prolonged legislative budget gridlock will have a “devastating” impact in the short and long term.
Lembo said that expenditures through July – the first month of the fiscal year – were 10.1 percent higher than last year and reflect the problems the state will face throughout the year. The double-digit increase is due to rising fixed costs, including debt and retirement costs, he said.
The state and its municipalities can look forward to receiving downgrades in credit ratings if the budget impasse continues, and that will cost taxpayers even more, Lembo said.
“Connecticut’s economy continues to post mixed results across an array of key economic indicators,” he said. “These results do not indicate that the state can grow its way out of the current revenue stagnation.
Malloy could not be reached immediately for comment.
