What is Connecticut’s Budget Deficit? Depends Who You Ask

What will be the state’s budget deficit? It depends who you ask and apparently when you ask.

The state Office of Policy and Management released an estimate Thursday for a $5.7 million deficit for the 2017 fiscal year. The amount is very small considering the state’s total budget is about $18 billion. A one-time $120 million settlement with the Royal Bank of Scotland for mortgage-backed security practices prior to the Great Recession will help Connecticut’s budget books.

State agencies were warned to expect a $133 million hole last month. The nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis projected a shortfall of $78 million last week.

A Malloy spokesman said the administration used extremely conservative revenue estimates to encourage state agencies to be frugal with budget requests, according to the CT Mirror.

The various numbers have angered Republicans.

Republican leaders have called for an informational session to explain the discrepancies, especially because the election is right around the corner.

“This was the last opportunity for OFA to offer the public an unvarnished view of what our state’s finances look like before the election, and it shows what we have expected all along,” said House Republican Leader Themis Klarides (R-Derby). “Connecticut has an ongoing and mounting deficit and we must reject the attempts to minimize that reality.”

What matters now is coming to a true and accurate number so the state can adjust accordingly, said Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano.

“His numbers behind closed doors show a significant deficit and serious financial issues lawmakers should be talking about fixing now,” he said. “But on the surface, he shared a much rosier picture that matches the ‘all is well’ line we’ve been hearing repeatedly from Democrat lawmakers. That kind of doublespeak is infuriating.”

Republicans have also railed against Democrats after the Department of Labor’s report estimated the state lost 5,200 jobs in September and 300 in August.

“Connecticut lags behind the rest of the nation, and the rest of New England, in job growth,” Fasano said. “And we still haven’t recovered all the jobs lost since the recession. What Connecticut Democrats in charge of our state are doing right now is not enough to grow the jobs that our families need to survive.”

The state has experienced some pockets of good job news in the past month.

A deal between the state and Sikorsky received bipartisan support. The deal will keep the company in Connecticut through at least 2032, add and retain jobs and boost Sikorsky’s spending on locally-supplied parts.

It was also announced that the Henkel Corporation will move part of its laundry, home care and beauty care headquarters in Stamford, which is anticipated to bring in hundreds of new jobs.

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