Governor Malloy's Train Wreck?

Governor Malloy’s assistant, Roy Occhiogrosso, released an alternative budget proposal from the Governor’s office yesterday. The Associated Press reported “Connecticut cities and towns would lose one-third of their state aid under a contingency plan Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has requested in case there is no agreement on $1 billion in union savings and concessions to help balance his budget.”

This proposal represents a 36% cut in municipal aid from the state. Danbury would lose $10.4 million in the alternative budget proposal.

This proposal is a train wreck. All Governor Malloy is doing is proposing local municipalities lay-off teachers, police and firefighters. This is pitting state government employee unions against local government employee unions.

Governor Malloy is playing politics at its worst – threatening local governments that currently run far more efficiently than Connecticut’s state government – when he has proposed no significant state government efficiency reforms or reorganization.

State government employees have a zero unemployment rate. Governor Malloy is protecting state employees at all costs while local governments struggle to balance their budgets.

Governor Malloy’s alternative budget proposal is simply passing state government’s bloated inefficiency on to local property tax payers.

I look forward to presenting the Republican’s alternative budget proposal in the next several days that recognizes the urgency of Connecticut state government reorganization.