The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Local GOP leaders protest budget veto
Mayor, legislators speak at City Hall
TORRINGTON — Local Republican leaders gathered Monday in Torrington to protest Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s veto of the GOP’s budget proposal and its potential ramifications.
“We are here today to urge state lawmakers to come together and stand up to Gov. Malloy’s veto of the state budget that passed the legislature with bipartisan support,” said state Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-Canton; state Sen. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, state Rep. Jay Case, R-Winchester, state Rep. Brian Ohler, R-North Caanan; and state Rep. David Wilson, R-Litchfield in a joint statement. “The governor vetoing this budget, and offering no alternative plan for our towns, cities and nonprofits but his executive order is a devastating event.”
Under the executive order, Torrington would face a decrease of $22.6 million in funding, while New Hartford and Harwinton would lose $3.3 and $2.8 million respectively. New Hartford would receive $2,845 in state funding, while Harwinton would get nothing.
New Hartford First Selectman Daniel Jerram, Harwinton First Selectman Michael Criss and Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone said a series of cost-saving measures, such as the delay of infrastructure projects, had been implemented as their municipalities grapple with this pending financial pressure.
Future options are more dramatic — among others, Jerram noted the possibility of layoffs, Criss, the closure of town buildings for a period and a harmful change to the school system and Carbone, the possibility of cuts to the school system, putting off pension payments, layoffs and other measures that affect the quality of life for residents.
“These cuts will hurt, and that hurt will be long-lasting,” Carbone said.
“Under the executive order, it basically strips out almost everything that we possibly have done. Any good will that we’ve done over the years, any good hard work that we’ve done on the local level,” Criss said. “Just to indirectly bail out large cities, such as Hartford and New Haven and Bridgeport . ... this is basically trying to bail out bad management practices.”
“The impact is — people will leave this state. Businesses will not
“The impact is – people will leave this state.” New Hartford First Selectman Daniel Jerram
come here. Every small business person will be harmed, which is going to slow the growth of the area. Real estate values will stagnate,” Jerram said. “And at the end of the day, kids’ education won’t get the money that it needs to get our kids on the path to success.”
Malloy issued the latest version of the executive order in August. It represented a reallocation of resources to pay for basic services in the most challenged school districts, and would prompt difficult choices for local leaders, he said in a statement at the time.
“This has never been my preferred path. I have proposed full balanced budgets and also short-term solutions that would alleviate some of this pain. It is incumbent upon state leaders to come together and reach an agreement on a biennial budget right away,” Malloy said.
All three lawmakers said they wanted to see a budget adopted quickly.
“We hope for bipartisanship,” Jerram said. “We hope for people to put families first and to cross the aisle and start passing these budgets, and override the governor’s veto so that life can get back to normal and Connecticut can start on a path to success again.”
The state legislators in attendance suggested lawmakers come together to override the veto.
“(This) is a budget that not only avoids the governor's draconian executive order that would hurt schools in most towns and cities, it is also a budget that creates stability for our towns and cities over the next two years, and for many years to come,” said the state legislators in their joint statement. “While Gov. Malloy vetoed it, he does not have the final word. That is up to the legislature. And we are urging action.”
Coming to a financial plan is crucial, Criss said. It would provide a chance to plan addressing the state's financial situation, as opposed to an immediate dramatic impact on towns.
“The way the executive order is planned, no one will make out on it,” Criss said. “And at least this opportunity gives us a chance to actually work together, and try to weather the storm together over a period of time, instead of decimating us all at one time.”