Airport, transit and highway services could suffer steep cutbacks if the state Department of Transportation slashes 10 percent of its budget as requested by the governor to help avoid a fiscal crisis in Connecticut.
According to the DOT report filed Dec. 1 by Commissioner James P. Redeker for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, as much as $134.7 million could be withheld in fiscal 2018 with approximately the same amount carrying into the following fiscal year.
The DOT has not yet acted on its proposals and won’t until the General Assembly and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy take up the state budget in the new year, said Kevin J. Nursick, a department spokesman. All state agencies are recommending 10-percent cuts.
In fiscal 2017-18, possible cutbacks range from complete closure of the state’s highway rest areas (cutting $533,750) to reducing bus transit district subsidies by $15.5 million and cutting $4.5 million for airport services, the state reports.
According to the latest estimates, the state is projecting a deficit of $41.6 million for fiscal 2016-17 and $1.4 billion for fiscal 2017-18, but those numbers are in flux, given still incoming tax receipts and other state budget office adjustments.
