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How We Balance the Budget

Posted on April 20, 2018

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1) Annualize Some Gubernatorial Holdbacks. Holdbacks imposed on sensitive issues were not annualized.

2) Across the Board Reductions of 5 – 7 % to Specified Accounts. Cuts were withheld from most vital or vulnerable services.

3) Make Managerial and Overtime Reductions Mandatory. These savings were included in the bipartisan budget. However, Governor Malloy refused to implement these savings. This plan would make the agreed to reductions mandatory.

4) Codify Reductions to Other Expenses Already Agreed to by Governor. These savings were included in the bipartisan budget and separately were agreed to by the governor in earlier negotiations with Democrats last year. However, the governor has since failed to fully implement these reductions to save a total $52.5 million. Therefore, this budget would directly reduce OE expenses by agency so that this agreement can be upheld. This does not impact services

5) Further Reduce the Size of Government through Privatization & Other Policies

  • Convert services to nonprofit providers
    • Move some DMV services to private sector. Example, allow car dealers to perform car registrations
    • DMHASS Privatization
      • Recommended by Department: Close 20 detox beds at CT Valley Hospital and privatize these beds through general hospitals and community not for profits. Enhances access by making beds available across the state. Savings of $4,971,316by relocating staff to vacancies.
      • Recommended by Department: Closing 15 geriatric beds at CT Valley Hospital and instead privatizing this care by placing patients in long term services and supports in the community. Savings achieved by relocating staff to vacancies & overtime reductions. Savings of $3,100,261
      • Recommended by Governor: Convert 10 Group Homes from Public to Private Operation. Savings of $1,000,000 in FY 2019.
  • Do not expand size of DCF which was bipartisanly rejected by the legislature
  • Eliminate selected managerial positions (allows for no more than one deputy commissioner of any agency, eliminates politically appointed executive assistants, allows for only one executive secretary per agency, and consolidates legislative and communications functions for executive branch agencies under the office of the governor).

6) Post 2027 SEBAC Savings. Limited to savings from eliminating COLAs unless legislatively directed and eliminating overtime from calculation of final average salary (only impacts those retiring after 2027). This results in savings beginning in FY 2019 of $61.7 million.

7) Reduce Unfunded Liabilities by Paying More into State Employee & Teacher Retirement Funds. Under the state’s volatility cap, we recommend spelling out exactly how to use state revenue that exceeds the defined cap. We recommend directing 1/3 of funds above the cap toward the state employees retirement fund, 1/3 of funds above the cap minus $8 million to the teachers retirement fund (the $8 million deduction will be put towards retired teachers health fund), with the remaining 1/3 of funds above the cap to the state’s rainy day fund. These additional contributions will result in a reduction of the fund’s massive unfunded liabilities. With this commitment, state actuaries estimate an immediate savings of $40 million in ARC payments as a result of the new defined commitment to pay off unfunded debt. The total savings of this policy over the next five years is estimated to be over $200 million.

 

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