The state budget surplus has jumped by $163.3 million to $263.2 million this month, Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced today.
However, the governor warns that the projected additional budget requirements in the General Fund have risen. She points out that the Department of Correction has an estimated deficiency of $17 million due to increased prison population and the University of Connecticut Health Center is estimated to require an additional $10.9 million to address its budgetary shortfall.
Rell also warned that skyrocketing oil prices could prompt the state to spend many millions of extra dollars for the popular LIHEAP program, which provides heating assistance to low-income families.
“While this jump in the surplus is welcome news, we still must continue to protect Connecticut from any downturn in the economy,” Rell said. “That means no new taxes. That means we must tighten our belts and trim our spending. It also means that we must deposit these surplus dollars into our state’s savings account, the Rainy Day Fund.”
In October, Rell announced that nearly $250 million was deposited into the state’s Rainy Day Fund, bringing that fund total to over $1.36 billion.Â
