Gov. M. Jodi Rell is calling the Connecticut General Assembly into special session later this month to vote on her plan to eliminate an estimated budget deficit of $300 million.
Rell detailed her deficit reduction plan, which does not include new taxes or layoffs, and which does not dip into a $1.4 billion “rainy day” fund accumulated from budget excesses in previous years.
Rell has asked state agencies to pare their budgets by up to 10 percent this year, without saying agencies will accomplish it without payroll cuts.
“Cutting spending is never easy, but if I have to choose between cutting the size of our government or forcing our families to pay more, I will cut government,” Rell said in a written statement.
Rell said the state can cover more than half of the current deficit by recouping federal money the governor says is owed for facilities run by the Department of Developmental Services. Rell also plans to raise $40 million from a tax amnesty program, and says the state can save $5 million in reduced appropriations and $3 million from delaying new initiatives.
The governor did not indicate additional areas for cuts or savings if the budget deficit exceeds $300 million. State Comptroller Nancy Wyman stated last month that an additional “structural” deficit of $500 million exists, due to the state”™s use of surplus funds from previous years to pay for spending in the current fiscal year.
