The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Gov. Malloy’s proposed cuts to education ‘out of line’
Gov. Malloy’s proposed reduction of education cost sharing funding — which in several cases amounts to outright elimination — has stunned and angered local town officials.
Malloy informed officials in Cromwell, East Hampton and Portland last week that they are among the 85 municipalities which will see their ECS funding eliminated if the General Assembly does not pass a biennial budget by Oct. 1.
For Cromwell, that would mean the potential loss of $4.9 million, according to Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore.
For East Hampton, Malloy’s decision could mean the loss of $5.6 million — “about half the cost of the general government operating budget,” according to Town Manager Michael Maniscalco.
For Portland, the projected loss amounts to $4.23 million, First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield said Monday morning.
“I’m shocked at the size of the proposed cut,” Salvatore said Friday afternoon. “The governor’s proposal would, in essence, zero us out.”
However, having conducted “a quick calculation, we probably have sufficient funding on hand to keep us going until April of 2018,” Salvatore said.
But, Salvatore said, “Once again, it appears we are being punished for keeping our financial house in order.”
The town passed its 201718 budget on the first try in May. The town’s triple-A bond rating, which it was awarded in 2014, was reaffirmed this past December.
Salvatore raised another, deeper concern.
“What I don’t like is the appearance that the governor is trying to pit municipalities against municipalities,” he said.
Malloy’s proposal could be nullified by action on the General Assembly, which has been reviewing budget options since the legislature convened in February.
“I would urge the legislature to act in a responsible manner to pass a budget and negate this two-tier system that seeks to penalize some towns to benefit others,” Salvatore said.
Salvatore said he has reached out to both state Sen. Paul Doyle and state Rep. Christie Carpino to “express our concerns about this proposal.”
“This (proposal) is totally out of line,” Cromwell Mayor Enzo Faienza said Friday.
While he continues to minor the issue with Salvatore and with Board of Education Chairman Michael J. Camilleri, “I want to reassure our residents that this is not final and once a biannual budget is passed, this will mostly likely change,” Faienza said.
Maniscalco is the only one of the three officials to impose restrictions on spending. “About a month ago, I put a hiring freeze in place and we currently have four part-time and full-time positions unfilled,” he said in an email Sunday.
In the wake of Malloy’s email, “I have also frozen all capital spending,” Maniscalco said. “Additionally, we have moved forward with our plans to go after delinquent taxpayers.”
“The finance director [Jeffrey M. Jylkka] and I are continuing to review other areas to reduce the impact of lost state revenue on East Hampton residents,” Maniscalco added.
Bransfield was unusually pointed in her comments about the governor’s proposal. Like Cromwell, Portland passed its budget on the first try in May so it would be prepared for the start of the new fiscal year, which began on July 1, Bransfield said.
But nearly seven weeks later, the state — which began its budget review in February — still does not have a budget, and the likelihood is that it will not get one before September at the earliest, Bransfield said.
“The idea that the governor would eliminate ECS funding for 85 towns is totally unacceptable,” Bransfield said. “The 85 towns represent many workingclass towns in Connecticut, towns like Portland, where residents pay their local and state taxes knowing that some of that money comes back support our quality schools,” Bransfield continued.
The timing of Malloy’s announcement — coming as it did less than two weeks before schools reopen — further irked Bransfield.
“Every child deserves a quality education,” she said. “That’s one thing Connecticut has stood for and has worked for. I think all need to come together and say this is unnecessary and irresponsible and we’re not going to stand for it. We have followed all the rules the state has laid out for us.
“Now, the legislature needs to do their jobs and pass a responsible budget and have the governor sign it.”
“I think the responsibility for this also lies with the members of the state House and Senate,” Bransfield said. “Our state leaders need to accomplish their task, and they have to be held accountable to do the job they were elected to do.”
Bransfield said she has been contact with both Carpino and state Sen. Art Linares, who told her he is ready to reach across the aisle to work with Democrats to resolve the impasse.
Once the budget is in place, Bransfield said the state needs to turns its attention to three other issues.
They are: “diversifying our revenues so we are not overly reliant on the property tax, alleviating some of the unfunded mandates, and enabling the towns to share services and cut costs,” Bransfield said.
Unfunded mandates are rules imposed on towns by the state, but which come without any funding to help pay for their implementation.
“If we can reduce the unfunded mandates, then we can begin making cost cuts,” Bransfield said.
Carpino was incensed by Malloy’s proposal. “It is absolutely despicable for the governor to hold children as pawns in this budget debate,” she said in a voice mail Saturday.
“As a parent, a taxpayer and a state representative, I think it is unconscionable that we’re in this situation where, with one stroke of a pen, the governor is putting our children at risk,” Carpino said.