CT News Junkie | State Trooper Contract Approved By Appropriations; Raises Wages, Phases Out Longevity

Excerpted from an article on CTNewsJunkie.com

Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, said he appreciated the creative approach to spreading out the raises — but he wondered if the state’s ballooning budget deficit could sustain a contract that increases costs $4.5 million the first year, $9.1 million the second year, and $14.5 million the third year.

Formica, one of two senators and 18 representatives who did not vote to approve the contract, said he had hoped to postpone his decision until later in the day. First, he wanted to listen to testimony at a public hearing scheduled immediately afterward, which included requests from various state agencies for more money to get them through the fiscal year.

Formica noted in an interview Tuesday afternoon that the first-year cost estimates for the contract happened to coincide with the amount of this year’s projected shortfall in the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.