During last week’s MetroHartford Alliance Rising Star Breakfast Webster Financial Corp. CEO Jim Smith introduced keynote speaker Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, but the prominent Connecticut banker didn’t handoff the microphone until he unveiled a list of demands from the business community:
• Don’t increase taxes
• Don’t raid the special transportation fund to pay for general expenses
• Use any budget surplus to pay down long-term debt/unfunded liabilities
• Don’t surpass the state’s constitutional spending cap
It’s rare that a keynote speaker gets greeted with a to-do list, but Smith’s demands indicate how closely the business community will be watching Malloy and the state legislature when it convenes Jan. 7 to start a new session.
The stakes are high as lawmakers must adopt a two-year budget that faces a billion-dollar deficit over the next two fiscal years. During the gubernatorial campaign Malloy pledged not to raise taxes, and it’s a promise the business community expects the governor to honor, said Smith, who described the state’s spending and tax habits as “unsustainable.”
“Tough spending choices are required,” Smith said during his introduction.
During an approximately 15 minute speech, Malloy didn’t unveil any new policy initiatives or talk much about how he plans to attack the projected deficit. He did rattle of some of his first-term accomplishments: shrinking the state workforce, passing a budget that provided a surplus, paying down some long-term liabilities, and converting the state to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
Malloy did say the state needs to develop a long-term, transportation policy, including a way to finance any projects deemed necessary to modernize the state’s infrastructure over the next 20 years.
Malloy also said his administration will not help fund the New Britain Rock Cats’ move to Hartford, but they could get involved in funding the broader Downtown North development, which includes residential and commercial projects.
