CAMILLO: REAL WORLD ‘NO TAX’ BUDGET UNVEILED

HARTFORD – In an effort to fuel stalled budget negotiations, Greenwich State Reps. Livvy Floren and Fred Camillo along with House and Senate Republicans today unveiled an alternative Real World budget plan to solve the state’s fiscal crisis through governmental consolidations and spending cuts, but maintains aid to towns and cities.

In startling contrast to the Democratic plan that would raise taxes a whopping $1.8 billion, the Real World no tax increase budget proposal would spare taxpayers any more pain.
The details of the Real World no tax increase budget spending plan:
• Reduces state spending by 4%
• Maintains current state aid to municipalities
• Consolidates 23 state agencies into 6
• Less borrowing than the other alternatives
• Maintains funding for social and human services at 2007 levels
• Eliminates the Citizens’ Election Fund
Additionally, the 5 key social and human services agencies (DSS, DMHAS, DDS, DCF, and DPH) funding is actually increased over 2007 levels by 13%.
Unlike any other budget proposal, House Republicans have no tax increases. Democrats want to raise taxes by a whopping $1.8 on businesses and workers with no tax breaks for the middle class. Republicans today proposed cutting the bloated state bureaucracy by an additional $446 million to meet the revised budget revenue estimates.Rep. Floren, a member of the legislature’s Select Committee on Aging said, “We all want to protect our most vulnerable citizens, but we must provide for them with service delivery models that are neither wasteful nor duplicative.”

The state’s major social services agencies will receive an additional $1.2 billion under this plan for a total of nearly $10 billion.  The state has lost $2 billion in revenue from the recession and Wall Street declines and that some funding levels are simply unaffordable at this time.

“Since January, the House Republicans have maintained that this was the time to scale back an over-sized state government, and re-position Connecticut to attract business to our state and be among the most economically competitive states in the union. Nothing has changed, in that regard,” added Rep. Fred Camillo.The budget is balanced through a series of new revenue streams similar to those adopted by Democrats and Gov. Rell:

• A $75 million tax amnesty program;
• $70 million in state asset sales such as unused property
• Additional securitization of state assets for $125 million
• $50 million in additional debt collection for individuals and companies that owe the state fees and fines;
• $10 million for cell towers on state buildings.

Budget negotiations are expected to resume next week