Klarides Opposes Cuts to Towns; Calls for Aid Restoration

HARTFORD — Rep. Themis Klarides today joined Republican lawmakers in rejecting plans to cut town and city aid and instead proposed closing the projected budget deficit by cutting state spending by $466 million. Klarides and her House and Senate Republican colleagues called for immediate action from super-majority Democrats whose budget was unbalanced as soon they passed it in September.The proposal unveiled by Republicans at a Capitol news conference reduces the sales tax from 6 percent to 5.5 percent as originally planned to save consumers $129 million. The plan achieves the savings to cover the deficit and provide sales tax relief by reducing spending across state government by 6.5 percent.

Klarides embraced the level of spending cuts put forth last month by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, but expressed deep concern over a proposed $84 million cut in aid to cities and towns. Rell has called the legislature into special session Dec. 15 to address the budget crisis, but Democrats have not indicated whether they will comply.

“It’s simple, really: A budget deficit is the responsibility of the legislature, and unfortunately we’re running out of time to act,” said Klarides, noting that only six months are left in this fiscal year. “Cutting aid to towns like Derby, Orange and Woodbridge does nothing but drop a state problem into the laps of local leaders, leaving them to increase local property taxes to cover the gap in state funding they need for expenses such as road repair.”

The $466 million in spending cuts include taking $28 million from the Citizens’ Election Fund and cutting most accounts in the Democratic budget approved Sept. 1 by 6.5 percent. House and Senate Republicans said taxpayers should not be forced to pay for political campaigns while Connecticut families are cutting their own budgets and more than 71,000 workers have lost their jobs. They pointed out that the state’s public financing system has been ruled unconstitutional in court and must be changed.

Klarides pointed out that as the state’s deficit grew in 2008 and 2009 super-majority Democrats repeatedly refused to cut spending in any significant way and created the gridlock over the state budget that was not passed until Labor Day, three months after the start of the fiscal year.

States that passed their budgets on time found themselves in much better fiscal strength.