The state Office of Policy and Management through its Secretary Benjamin Barnes issued a report recently showing overall state debt has declined 15 percent, or $11.6 billion, over the last three years.
The report said, “had action not been taken ”¦ the total of the state”™s long-term obligations would have reached a high of $76.2 billion.”
The $11.6 billion in savings comes through a combination of factors, including increasing the state”™s payment into pensions and the deficit as determined by generally accepted accounting principles, the creation of a new pension tier and requiring state employees to contribute to their post-retirement health care.
“It won”™t happen overnight, but we are taking the steps we need to pay down debt and shore up the state”™s long-term fiscal health,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said. “We are tackling our long term debt in a responsible way, while still making the bold, necessary investments needed to help create jobs and grow our economy. Reducing the state”™s debt will increase our financial stability over the long haul, and allow us to avoid repeating some of the bad mistakes that got us into trouble in the past.”
Budget reports are often political footballs and the announcement proved no exception.
The governor”™s communications director, Andre Doba, said in prepared remarks: “The Republicans never fail to let the facts get in the way of their baseless attacks. When the official unemployment rate falls to its lowest point since 2009, they point to dreamed up hypotheticals and ignore reality. When a project gets approved, they criticize it, unless of course it”™s in their district. And now, when presented with a complete accounting of our debt reduction, they cherry pick their facts and continue to ignore the $11.6 billion that Governor Malloy has saved for Connecticut taxpayers. It”™s time for Republicans to stop rooting for Connecticut to fail.”
As for the state GOP, its official website in a Jan. 8 offering said, “Dan Malloy promised an ”˜honest”™ state budget that didn’t”™ include any ”˜gimmicks.”™ What he passed was a toxic cocktail of over-spending, over-borrowing and new taxes that violated the constitutional spending cap and put off repayment of our massive debt until after the 2014 election.”
The OPM report said: “Taking this disciplined approach to long-term debts has come at a price. We have had to reduce spending on government services, strictly limit the replacement of retiring state employees, and significantly reduce the value of our retirement plans for virtually all employees and especially new employees. It is nevertheless critical that the state maintain or improve its financial strength ”“ and its credit rating ”“ by sustaining these efforts over time and ultimately reducing the impact of long-term debts on the state”™s budget and economy.”
