State Representative Gail Lavielle (R-143) joined her fellow Republican lawmakers yesterday to unveil an alternative budget proposal they say closes the state’s projected $935.7 million deficit for 2017, preserves funding for hospitals and core social services, protects local town education funding, and includes no new taxes or fees. According to a press release from Lavielle’s office, the plan, entitled “The Pathway to Sustainability,” implements long-term structural changes to the state budget, with savings that roll out over the next five years, mitigating future projected budget shortfalls.

Of particular interest to Wilton, Republicans say their plan shows the deficit can be closed without eliminating Education Cost Sharing (ECS) Grants to Wilton and 27 other towns that stand to completely lose funding under a budget proposed by Gov. Malloy. In fact, the Republican plan would completely restore the original $1.557 million ECS that Wilton would have received from the state.

“This proposal is something we haven’t seen in Connecticut state government in many years,” Lavielle says. “It’s a plan for the future—rather than a series of one-time, stopgap measures—that’s designed to halt the state’s persistent deficit cycle. It’s a framework for running state government that can restore Connecticut’s financial health and usher in a sustainable, predictable future for taxpayers, businesses, and municipalities.”

Hartford Republicans say their ‘Pathway to Sustainability’ plan includes a line-by-line budget that closes the fiscal year 2017 deficit, as well as long-term structural changes to prevent future deficits. They also assert that after 2017 the five-year plan is projected to produce annual surpluses, with a cumulative total of over $1 billion.

According to the release, the proposed Republican budget would preserve funding for core social services that majority legislators and the governor have proposed cutting this year, while also eliminating unnecessary spending and implementing new policies that generate long-term savings. The plan’s provisions include:

  • Restoring education funding for towns and increasing statutory grants to municipalities. Preserving funding at 100% for capping the car tax and implementing a robust municipal mandate relief, maintaining funding throughout the next five years.
  • Protecting funding for social services. To preserve services for the disabled, the mentally ill, children, the elderly, and those in poverty, this proposal eliminates new proposed budget cuts to direct services.
  • Restoring support for hospitals and Medicaid reimbursements.
  • Administrative reductions. To enable the state to protect funding for core services, the plan budget cuts specific, non-service accounts by 12% for a total savings of $157.5 million.
  • Legislative givebacks including legislative salary reductions and elimination of unsolicited mail.
  • Modifications to debt service and a cap on state bonding.
  • Funding transportation improvements with “Prioritize Progress” – a no tolls/ no tax increases plan.
  • Implementing long-term structural changes to the state budget including mandatory voting by the legislature on labor contracts, overtime accountability protocols, caps on spending and bonding, and many more.
  • Quantifying savings from changes to unionized state employee health and pension benefits, to offer an alternative to layoffs should unions come to the negotiation table.

Despite putting forward their solution, it’s widely assumed the Republican plan won’t be the one to advance. As the majority party in Hartford, Democrats likely will have more of a say on what gets passed; they’re preparing a budget plan as well that is expected to be presented sometime either this week or early next week. Lavielle is hopefully that some of the GOP ideas get incorporated. Whatever eventually does get adopted will be some hybrid plan worked out between the majority lawmakers—assembly Democrats—and Malloy.

“My contacts on the Democrat side are telling me they think ultimately a budget–whatever it is, negotiated or not, with something that the Democrats will have and the Governor won’t veto–that [ECS to the 28 towns] probably won’t be 100-percent cut, but certainly there is going to be some cut. In their first budget they had cut around $600,000. They don’t know how much, and Wilton will not get a special deal. That will not be an option,” Lavielle tells GOOD Morning Wilton. “They do it as a policy move, not just one town, or town by town.”

But, she adds, it’s still very much up in the air, which doesn’t give Wilton any more specific answers than it had before. That leaves things unsure as to where the road to next week’s Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 3 will lead. As evidence, selectman Michael Kaelin suggested in a letter to the editor last week that the Board of Education should make a motion to cut their proposed budget increase to zero in light of events in Hartford; this week, Board of Education chair Bruce Likly countered with the argument in his regular column, “Notes from the Board Table,” as to why the schools should not bear the entire brunt of any cuts Hartford makes to municipal funding support.

Ultimately, however, Lavielle says it’s still a guessing game at this point, unfortunately.

“The problem is that it’s really just speculating as to what the ECS is going to be. It’s really hard to do.”

The 2016 legislative session will adjourn on Wednesday, May 4.

State Rep. Gail Lavielle represents Norwalk, Westport, and Wilton. She is Ranking Member of the General Assembly’s Education Committee and a member of the Appropriations and Transportation Committees