Ben Barnes, secretary of the state’s Office of Policy and Management, is painting a glum financial picture for Connecticut’s budgets for years to come. He predicts steadily growing deficits through 2020.
In his budget report, Barnes said:
- In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, OPM is currently projecting a General Fund deficit of $122.4 million.
- For Fiscal Years 2017 through 2020, projected expenditures are anticipated to exceed forecast revenues by $508.1 million, $1.3 billion, $1.2 billion, and $1.4 billion in the General Fund.
- Projected expenditures exceed the level allowable by the state’s expenditure cap by $149.4 million in FY 2018, $169.2 million in FY 2019 and $19.8 million in FY 2020.
Barnes said those numbers are in line with figures released by the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis on Nov. 10. He said the deficit projections assume no change in funding or revenue from the current budget document.
In his report, Barnes said economic recovery has been “slow but steady” in Connecticut. Similar to recent corporate earnings reports, the OPM secretary said uncertain international economic conditions could translate into national and regional economic reactions.
