Gov. M. Jodi Rell has directed the state Office of Policy and Management to provide a list of administrative actions she can take to reduce the deficit. Rell did not immediately state whether layoffs are probable; separately, Rell reached an agreement with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition on cost-cutting measures.
To date, Rell has cut $1.3 billion from projected state budgets through a mix of spending rescissions, hiring freezes and bids to obtain untapped revenue from federal sources among other strategies. Rell has traded barbs with Democratic leaders in the Connecticut General Assembly over each sides”™ proposals to cut Connecticut”™s deficit, currently estimated at more than $6 billion for the upcoming two fiscal years.
