Gov. M. Jodi Rell offered a bare-bones budget last week that would slash 800 state jobs, raise state fees and eliminate key watchdogs, including the Office of Consumer Counsel.
Her bill attempts to cover a $2.9 billion budget shortfall in 2009 and 2010 without cutting municipal aid or raising taxes. To accomplish that, Rell proposes to spend all $1.4 billion in the state’s rainy day fund over the next three years, draw on aid from President Barack Obama’s stimulus package and make drastic spending cuts. Her savings include $295 million in union concessions.
“The bloat of bureaucracy is no longer affordable,” the Republican governor told lawmakers in her Feb. 4 budget speech at the Capitol. “It’s time to get back to basics.”