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Budget day at the Connecticut capitol used to be like Christmas morning…you were never sure what you’d be getting.
Sure, like with Santa Claus you had a pretty good idea. I mean you’d been dropping hints for months. But, the final budget presented by the governor always included a hint of surprise.
Not so this year. Governor Dannel Malloy has been rolling out details of his plan to close a budget gap of nearly $3.7 billion dollars for the last few weeks. Some highlights: Tax increases, and not just for the rich, that would amount to 1.5 billion dollars; 2 billion dollars in concessions from state employee unions; and agency consolidations.
The actual budget would grow by 2.4 percent over current spending levels, and Malloy promises to do this while maintaining education funding to towns and cities.
The Governor’s calling this “shared sacrifice” – and it seems to be working on one level: both conservatives and liberals are already complaining about the plan.
Today, where we live, budget chief Ben Barnes and budget guru Keith Phaneuf of the Connecticut Mirror, and we’ll talk with you.
Update: After today's show, Keith Phaneuf covered Ben Barnes' media briefing on the budget. You can read his story here.
Here is the text of Governor Malloy's budget speech, which is part of a Where We Live special tonight at 7 p.m.
