Harding Fears Budget Impasse Will Further Downgrade Connecticut's Economy

By Scott Benjamin

State Rep. Steve Harding (R-107) of Brookfield says he’s afraid that the current budget impasse at the state Capitol will further dent the only New England state that hasn’t recaptured all of the jobs loss during the 2008 recession.

Nearly a month into the fiscal year, Connecticut hasn’t adopted a state budget and CT Mirror has reported that is starting to impact funding for municipalities.

This week Harding - who represents Brookfield, the Stony Hill section of Bethel and a slice of northern Danbury - voted against a concessions package from the state employee collective bargaining units that supporters say would save $24 billion over 20 years, including $1.57 billion in the current two-year fiscal cycle.

The package was approved 78-72 on a mostly party-line vote in the House where Democrats have a slim majority.

Speaking at a constituents forum July 27 at the Brookfield Town Hall, Harding said he objected to suspending layoffs of state employees for the next four years and extending their fringe benefit provisions from 2022 to 2027.

Additionally, he said the proposed package, which the state Senate is scheduled to consider on Monday, is not fiscally sustainable because the future state employees will be placed in a hybrid pension plan instead of a 401K or defined contribution arrangement.

He said there was little, if anything, that could be done about pension plans for retirees and current state employees.

CTNewsJunkie reported earlier this year that the pensions are only 35.5 percent funded, even though Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-Stamford) has been praised for increasing the funding for the pensions. State Comptroller Kevin Lembo (D-Guilford) has said the state’s contribution to the program had been inadequate for many years before Malloy took office in 2011.

There are reports that three Democratic senators are unsure if they could support the concessions package.

“If it isn’t approved in the Senate, then the administration should go back to the negotiating table with the state employees,” said Harding. He said he wanted to avoid any layoffs.

He said under the proposed concessions agreement, state employees would increase their contributions to their pensions from 0-2 percent to four percent. He said the goal should be the national average of six percent.

Regarding the overall budget, which needs to address a projected $5.1 billion deficit for the current two-year fiscal cycle, Harding said he is frustrated that the Democratic leadership has not called for a vote on the GOP plan, which raises some fees but doesn’t increase taxes.

He said unlike the proposal that Malloy presented in February, the Republican package would maintain and in some cases increase municipal assistance. The governor had sought to reduce Education Cost Sharing funds and place one-third of the teacher pension obligations on the municipalities.

The legislator said he is concerned that a lingering budget impasse will possibly further downgrade Connecticut’s bond rating and causes residents and businesses to leave the state.

Harding, who turns 30 next week, said part of the reason he initially ran for the seat in 2015 was because so many of his friends had left the state because of a lack of job opportunities.

Economist Donald Klepper-Smith of DataCore Partners in New Haven has said at best it will be at least late next year before Connecticut will recapture all of the jobs lost in the 2008 recession.

Harding said with increased college costs over the recent years, it has become difficult for younger people, such as himself and his wife, to pay off both their mortgage and their college loans.

The legislator said he believes Connecticut’s public colleges could reduce costs by offering more of the less-expensive online classes. He noted that his father teaches online courses for the Western Governors Association program.

Harding, who also serves on the Brookfield Board of Education, said the three municipalities in his district are bucking the state trend. They have vibrant economies and well-funded pension obligations.

Danbury is growing more in population than any municipality in Fairfield County. Bethel is developing a downtown business revitalization plan and Brookfield has just embarked on building sidewalks to establish a pedestrian-friendly streetscape in the emerging 198-acre Town Center of Brookfield central business district.

“I think the reason for that is that we have effective municipal leaders,” said Harding.

On another topic, the legislator said he opposes legalization of marijuana even though he acknowledged it probably would generate additional revenue for the state.

“Even though it would bring in more money, I don’t think we should forego the public safety risks,” Harding said. For example, he said that a childhood friend whom he played baseball with started using marijuana in high school and eventually died of a heroin overdose.