By Keith M. Phaneuf
CTMirror.org July 8, 2011
Republicans decried more than
$28 million in financing released Friday by the State Bond Commission for
"non-essential" projects, including new beach sand for Milford and
sports field restrooms in West Hartford, at the request of the administration of
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Rep. Sean
J. Williams of Watertown and Sen. Andrew
W. Roraback of Goshen, the top GOP
lawmakers on the legislature's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Commission and the
only Republicans on the bond panel, charged the projects were particularly
unnecessary given ongoing plans for more than 6,600 state employee layoffs.
Gov. Dannel
P. Malloy talks to reporters after the bond commission
"I can't go back to my
district and say streetscapes and other things that weren't of absolute
critical importance I voted for," Williams told Malloy. "I think we need to be a little more
circumspect."
"We are at a very
different moment in time in the history of our state," said Roraback. "The specter of 6,000 layoffs looms
large."
Roraback said afterward that some of the items approved Friday fell under the
category of "pork-barrel" projects to assist Democrats in their home
districts, while others were "worthy, but clearly non-essential."
Among the financing requests
that both Williams and Roraback voted against were:
·
$8.35 million to help Windham Hospital develop a new medical office
campus.
·
$6.5 million to expand a
community health center in Meriden.
·
$4.7 million for streetscape
work along Park Street
in Hartford.
·
$4 million to redevelop a
moderate rental housing complex in Stamford.
·
$1.45 million for upgrades to
the Old State House in Hartford.
·
$1.25 million for new sand,
other beach erosion work and a new pier in Milford.
·
$750,000 for Westbrook for
harbor dredging.
·
$750,000 for sidewalks, lighting , bike racks and utility work in the Plainville downtown area.
·
$250,000 for road, sidewalk and
landscape work along Brooklawn Avenue in Bridgeport.
·
$250,000 for restrooms, and
handicapped accessible walkways and a play area at a West
Hartford sports field.
·
$105,000 to buy a new rescue
unit for the Allingtown Fire District in West Haven.
Since Malloy became governor in
January, his budget office, which prepares the bond commission's agenda, provides an estimate of the jobs the
state could "create or retain" with each proposed bond issue.
Five of the projects both
Williams and Roraback opposed would "create or
retain" 417 construction jobs and 20 health care
jobs, according to administration estimates.
But the other five, including
beach work in Milford, sports field improvements
in West Hartford, the fire rescue unit for West Haven,
dredging work in Westbrook, and road and landscape work in Bridgeport, came without any job projections.
Republicans have argued that
the new Democratic governor, who campaigned on a pledge to change wasteful
fiscal practices of past GOP governors, has failed to live up to that promise.
Malloy defended the financing
after Friday's meeting.
"I heard the speeches at
the outset" of the meeting, the governor said, noting that all the agenda items
enjoyed strong support. "People can say what they want, but the votes were
pretty clear."
The other eight seats on the
10-member bond commission, though, are held by Malloy, his fellow Democrats in
the legislature and other constitutional offices, and by his budget director
and public works commissioner.
Rep. Patricia
Widlitz, D-Guilford, a member of the bond
commission and co-chairwoman of the
Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, said many communities undertook these
projects with the understanding that state assistance would be forthcoming.
"They may not seem
essential to some, but they are essential to the people in these towns,"
she said, adding that "these projects are very carefully scrutinized. It's
not easy to get funding released."
The governor also said that
while "hundreds" of layoff notices have gone out to date,
"beginning next week we will see large-scale" release of notices,
likely as early as Tuesday.
The administration has charged
agencies with meeting more than $700 million in savings
targets this fiscal year to compensate for the tentative concession agreement
rejected recently by state employee unions. To help achieve those targets, the
administration has recommended more than 6,600 layoffs and elimination of about
1,000 vacant posts.
Connecticut, which ranks among the top states in the nation in per capita debt with
more than $19 billion in total bonded obligations.
One of the chief Wall Street
credit rating agencies, Moody's Investor Services, notified Connecticut earlier this month that it had
changed its "outlook" assessment for the state from stable to
negative
http://www.ctmirror.org/story/13204/gop-chastises-malloy-financing-clearly-nonessential-projects