Fasano Says Shrinking Surplus & New Budget are Signs of Economic Failure
July 2, 2014Hartford – State Senator Len Fasano (R-34), Senate Minority Leader Pro Tempore, released the following statement regarding the Comptroller’s monthly report released on Tuesday, July 1.
“The Comptroller has found that Connecticut is ending 2014 with a surplus of $33.2 million, a $10 million drop from last month’s projected surplus and a far cry from the $504 million surplus the governor said we would have just a few months ago. The plunging and unstable surplus is yet another example of the damage caused by Governor Malloy’s failed economic policies.
“To make matters worse, this past year’s budget was padded with gimmicks, one time revenues and delayed debt payments. If we were to remove all these budgeting tactics when looking at the state budget, we would actually see a deficit of over $1 billion – a deficit that all Connecticut taxpayers will pay for in the future.
“As Fiscal Year 2015 begins, Connecticut’s newly enacted budget only continues the deceitful practices employed last year. It relies on non-reoccurring revenues and borrowing to pay for daily state expenses. It also relies on $75 million worth of new tax revenue that does not yet exist, does not fund over $51 million of required retiree health expenses, and assumes that the state will make $20 million in hiring savings, despite creating 489 new state jobs. This adds up to a day one deficit of almost $150 million,” said Fasano.