Rigby, House Republicans Vote to Ease Budget Deficit

HARTFORD-State Rep. John Rigby today voted to reduce the state’s escalating deficit by $185 million. The measure Rigby supported represented a reduction of $54 million more than the proposal eventually adopted by House Democrats.

Though it wasn’t as much as he liked, Rigby said he was pleased to see at least some progress in erasing the current year budget deficit that could grow to $1 billion.

Still, Colebrook resident Rigby was pleased to see progress in addressing the crisis.  Heading into Wednesday the deficit for this fiscal cycle stood at nearly $350 million, but there were worries that the figure could grow significantly without the more substantial legislative action that Rigby and his Republican colleagues have called for. Updated figures are expected to be released Thursday. The Democrat-controlled legislature adopted spending cuts but the work isn’t done, Rigby said. Nonpartisan analysts have forecasted a budget deficit of at least $6 billion over the next two budget cycles. 

In tackling the current-year deficit, Rigby and other House Republicans offered to cut their own pay by 5 percent, delay an $87 million union contract until a budget is in place, and provide huge budget relief to towns and cities struggling to form their own spending plans. Also part of the plan was eliminating unfunded state mandates that hurt municipalities. Rigby said it’s that type of “outside-the-box” thinking that’s needed to wash away the deficit that has residents throughout Connecticut worried about significant tax increases. 

“I’ve talked with many local leaders throughout my district and they’re really worried about the money they get from the state to fund things like road repair and education,” Rigby said. “We’ve made progress today, but I’m not completely satisfied. We’ve got to do our best to temper the local effect of this crisis.”

Rigby said he voted against the final proposal from Democrats because it did not go far enough-not far enough for the struggling residents in his district-and added $250,000 in hidden spending that will further the state’s fiscal crisis. He and the rest of the Republican caucus proposed:

- Cutting their own pay by 5 percent for all 187 lawmakers;

- Delaying an $87 million salary increase package for corrections officers until a budget is in place this spring, otherwise the contract goes into effect within 30 days;

- Restoring $54 million in cuts Democrats eliminated from Gov. Rell’s budget;

- Eliminating $274 in additional health care costs for workers in the Capitol;

- Delaying or eliminating local mandates such as costly in-school suspension and treating some serious juvenile offenders as adults to save at least $95 million.

For the second time in six weeks lawmakers approved measures to temporarily comply with state laws to balance the budget but warned the deficit could spike again because of falling revenues.