Gov. Dannel Malloy said millions of dollars in additional budget cuts will be necessary and he is calling on legislators from both parties to come together to address the shortfall.
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The OPM forecasts, which Malloy said have been sent to state Comptroller Kevin Lembo, identify an approximately $120 million revenue shortfall, which amounts to roughly half of one percent of the overall budget.
Standing outside his state Capitol office Monday, Malloy said there’s been a significant downturn on Wall Street, and personal income is not rising as fast as expected.
Content Preview This content is exclusive for Optimum, Time Warner, Comcast, customers with access to News 12. But Malloy said repairing the state’s roads and bridges must be a priority.
While Malloy said all options are on the table, he did indicate cuts to planned transportation initiatives seem illogical. It added that the talks could lead to a special session on the budget later this year.
Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said he welcomed the prospect of bipartisan talks, but he, too, got in his digs at the legislature’s minority party.
The governor said he would lay out guidelines for addressing the budget problems.
“More hard decisions will have to be made”, Malloy said during his live press conference at the Governor’s Office.
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Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, said Democratic committee members searching for alternatives to the emergency cuts made to hospitals and social services have been exploring furloughs – unpaid days off – for union and non-union workers. This approach would have helped maintain the critical services that thousands of families rely on every day, and keeps much needed local property tax relief intact, ” he said. Malloy’s rhetoric on Monday toggled between conciliatory and combative, as he challenged his political opponents to bring ideas to the table.
