Carpino supports state budget with no tax increase

To the Editor:

I voted in favor of a bipartisan state budget that maintains funding to the state’s most vulnerable populations without relying on additional revenue from new taxes or tolls. In the waning hours of the 2018 session, a vote was taken, first in the Senate, and later in the House, on the budget after successful negotiations came to fruition.

While this is in no way a perfect budget, it does represent a quality compromise between both sides of the aisle.

The impact of the state budget on municipalities was an important consideration in crafting the budget. My proposal to allow municipalities to utilize volunteers for the delivery of town services was included. This provision creates greater flexibility to local budgets providing local autonomy at a time when the state’s financial situation remains volatile. There are, however, additional policy points that were not adopted in this year’s budget that will be necessary to bring the state to a point of fiscal stability.

A major provision not included in the budget compromise is a mechanism to start paying off the state’s long-term pension debt liabilities. A proposal I supported would have transferred monies from the rainy day fund and pay approximately $300 million to two unfunded pension liabilities. This concept is likely to be revisited next year.

The budget passed with overwhelming majorities in both the House and Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk for action. State Rep. Christie Carpino, R-Cromwell, Portland