Gov. Rell: CT deficit could reach $6 billion

Gov. M. Jodi Rell released budgetary projections Wednesday, warning Connecticut?s deficit could reach almost $6 billion over the next two fiscal years. Rell cautioned that budget cuts are on the way.

News 12 Staff

Nov 13, 2008, 4:16 PM

Updated 5,906 days ago

Share:

Gov. M. Jodi Rell released budgetary projections Wednesday, warning Connecticut?s deficit could reach almost $6 billion over the next two fiscal years.
Rell cautioned that budget cuts are on the way. After considering rising unemployment and falling incomes, which state officials say will crush revenues from income and sales tax, Rell painted a bleak picture of the future state economy.
?The crisis on wall street has deep implications for the state of Connecticut,? Rell says.
According to Rell, areas that once took top priority, like social services, education and infrastructure, are on the table.
?There is no area of government that is sacrosanct, because no area of our economy has gone unaffected,? she says.
But Speaker of the House Jim Amann cautions residents that Rell?s statements are only projections. He says the governor has inflated past situations for political gain.
?The governor's done this all the time,? Amann says. ?She paints this horrible picture and if she pulls out of it she looks like she's done a fantastic job.?
The speaker says the state should reach out to areas hardest hit by the market meltdown, like Fairfield County, and find ways to keep high paying jobs and high paid people in the state.