Governor Rell Appoints Administration Team

To Help Identify Millions in Savings for FY09

Directs that Rainy Day Fund ‘off limits’ in fund sweep

Governor M. Jodi Rell announced today that she has appointed two top administration officials to help the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee review hundreds of state budget accounts in an effort to identify millions in possible savings and close the estimated $1 billion budget shortfall for the current fiscal year.

The deficit mitigation plan, approved last week by the Legislature, requires the Appropriations Committee to identify by March 25 approximately $220 million in savings from non-appropriated line-item accounts, which total $1.6 billion. Governor Rell and her budget office have expressed real doubt on the availability of the money in many of more than 600 accounts, given that the vast majority of the accounts are either legally restricted or used for normal operating expenses for a number of state programs, such as the unemployment compensation fund, the Connecticut Siting Council as well as the operating budgets for state universities.

“Nevertheless, my Administration is making a good faith effort to help committee members scour those funds for savings and I have assigned two top Administration officials to begin that task immediately. We cannot wait until March 25 for answers, we need to find savings right now,” Governor Rell said.

Deficit estimates for this fiscal year range from $944 million, according to the Governor’s budget office to just over $1 billion, an estimate released on Monday from the state Comptroller’s Office.

“The unstable national economy continues to erode our bottom line and we need to find cuts anywhere we can and as soon as we can,” Governor Rell said. “I want a thorough accounting of each and every account and an accurate reflection of what is truly available to plug our budget gap.

“However, the state’s budget reserve (Rainy Day Fund) must not be included in the calculations,” Governor Rell said. “Those funds are off limits and must be used to balance our budgets over the next three years, starting with this fiscal year. The easy way out would be to drain the entire budget reserve, but that would a disservice to our taxpayers who expect from their leaders prudence not panic at this time.”

The Governor said she was concerned by remarks made by Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Toni Harp, (D-New Haven), who, during last week’s debate on the most recent deficit mitigation plan, refused to rule out raiding the Rainy Day Fund beyond what the Governor and Legislature have already agreed upon to balance this fiscal year’s budget.

Approximately $280 million of the $1.4 billion Rainy Day Fund is being used to close this fiscal year’s deficit and the Governor is tapping most of what is left to balance her Fiscal Year 2010-11 budget that she presented to the Legislature on February 4.

The Administration’s review team includes Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Brenda Sisco and Office of Policy and Management Deputy Secretary Michael Cicchetti.