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February 10, 2015
From: The Federation of
Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep, President
Website:
http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
The State of our State is Not So Stately
Budget
Director Warns of ‘Very Treacherous Terrain’...Ahead
As some state pensions exceed $200,000 and salaries exceed
$500,000,
Governor Malloy issues raises!
See Below
**********
State’s Latest
Fiscal Accountability Report
State’s long term debt
obligations total
SIXTY EIGHT ($68) BILLION
DOLLARS
The Following is the Breakdown
Connecticut's Unfunded Liabilities
|
$$$$ in Billions
|
Debt Outstanding
|
21.3
|
State Employee Retirement
System (SERS)
|
12.3
|
Teachers’ Retirement System
|
10.8
|
State Post Employment Health
and Life
|
19.5
|
Teachers’ Post Employment
Health
|
2.4
|
Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles Deficit
|
1.1
|
TOTAL
|
$68.4 Billion
|
********
The projected state deficit
for
Fiscal Year 2016 - $1.3
billion
Fiscal Year 2017 - $1.4
billion
Fiscal Year 2018 - $1.3
billion
********
It has Been Only Three Months Since the
November, 2014 Election!
AND ONLY
NOW ARE
CONNECTICUT TAXPAYERS & VOTERS
LEARNING
THE FULL EXTENT OF
CONNECTICUT’S FISCAL CRISIS
As Malloy spends millions on Raises for his Appointees, CTNewsJunkie.com reports that Ben Barnes, Connecticut’s State Budget Director Warns of ‘Very Treacherous Terrain’...Ahead. Barnes
further notes “the spending everyone
cares about in the budget, such as spending on children and education, are
falling behind because mandated spending in other areas of the budget, such as
pensions and debt service, are eclipsing them. “About 25 percent of the $17.5
billion 2015 general fund budget goes toward the state’s contractual or legally
obligated fixed costs. “That includes debt service, which is 9 percent of the
budget at $1.6 billion. “Another fixed cost is the annually required
contribution to the state employee pension fund, which is 5.6 percent of the
budget at $970 million. ‘There also is the teacher’s pension, which is $1.18
billion”.
On Feb 18, 2015, when Malloy releases his budget we will know if Malloy’s plan
includes cutting state aid to municipalities, raising taxes, or maybe it will
be tolls as today we learned Ex-aide to Conn. governor reportedly hired by highway toll
operator. What a coincidence!
The Federation suggests that
state and municipal costs could be
controlled through the
elimination or reform of the
State Mandates driving those
costs which includes
Binding Arbitration and
Collective Bargaining.
A visit to
the State’s Transparency Connecticut website provides insight
into the salaries and pensions taxpayers are paying our State employees which
are driven by these mandates.
In determining State Employee Salaries click Employee Compensation - Transparency Connecticut. Then click Advanced Search . Then go to the bottom of the page and click Search. Next, go to the last column captioned Total and click twice. This will give you the highest to the lowest
salaries being paid to include employee names.
Brace yourself. You will be
shocked.
In determining State Employee Pensions click Pensions - Transparency Connecticut - CT.gov. Then go to the
bottom of the page and click Search. Next, go to the
last column heading Total and click twice. This will give you
the highest to the lowest pensions being paid and the name of the
employee. Brace yourself. Here too you will be shocked.
But you will also be concerned when you read CT News Junkie | Funding Ratio Falls for State Employe...Pensions. Therein it is noted
…..An actuary hired by the state recently estimated that pension obligations
for active and retired state employees totaled $51 billion in 2014, and the
funded ratio over the past two years has declined slightly.
The most recent actuarial valuation of the pension funds
showed that as of June 30, 2012, the State Employees’ Retirement System was funded at
42.3 percent. But by 2014 it was funded at 41.5 percent. That means the State Employees’ Retirement System has about
$10.5 billion worth of assets, which is enough to cover 41.5 percent of the $21
billion in liabilities. Experts say an 80 percent funding level is considered
healthy. Continue reading at …. http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/funding_ratio_falls_for_state_employee_pensions/
************
Who is Paying the Highest Property Taxes
New Jersey is #1, Connecticut is #2!!!!!
All but two of the top 10 costliest states
are in the Northeast
Read More at the following web link:
See Who
Pays the Highest (and Lowest) Property Taxes
http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2014/10/09/states-highest-lowest-property-tax/
New Jersey
|
$7,331
|
Connecticut
|
$5,280
|
New Hampshire
|
$5,017
|
New York
|
$4,559
|
Massachusetts
|
$3,955
|
Illinois
|
$3,939
|
Rhode Island
|
$3,872
|
Vermont
|
$3,727
|
Wisconsin
|
$3,202
|
Maryland
|
$3,075
|
************