Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

Enfield Audit Reports by Citizens External Audit Committee to be Released June 30 and July 1
State facing massive deficit
Should we be surprised by red ink in State Budget or the Pending $49 Billion State Debt?
Keep your eye on state bonding�
Connecticut Debt Free � Year 1918
Decline in public school enrollment in CT
West Hartford Budget Cuts Criticized
Gov Rell Signs 2 bills to Benefit First Responders
Congress passes new Iraq war funds - $161.8 billion
Gasoline demand, oil prices lower
Midwest levee breaks, corn price at new high
Congratulations to Judy Aron on her very informative website

*******************************

CONGRATULATIONS TO Sue Lavelli-Hozempa and the

Enfield Public Schools Citizens External Audit Committee

Enfield Audit Reports by Citizens External Audit Committee

To Be Released June 30 and July 1 at 7 PM at

JFK Middle School, 155 Raffia Road, Enfield

�

Open to the Public - The Reports are Attached

�

From Sue Lavelli-Hozempa

Enfield Board of Education member

lavelli@snet.net

Hello to all,�� I am sending you the final reports for the Enfield Public Schools Citizens External Audit Committee; the only one missing is the Energy /Asset committee report that will be released on Monday. I will forward that one to you as soon as I have it. This is a proud moment for us to be able to see this goal come to fruition. The committees will be presenting in public to the full Board of Education and Town Council On Monday and Tuesday.

Monday June 30^th 2008 Tuesday July 1^st

7pm � JFK Middle School Library 7pm � JFK Middle School Library

Audit committee reports Audit committee reports

We have had an amazing group of citizens who stepped forward to do this work and I hope you will be as impressed with what they have done as I have been.

A very special thank you goes out to Mr. James T. Brislin, our Audit committee chairman. His talent and diligence was key to the success of this project.

All the best, Sue Lavelli-Hozempa

Enfield Board of Education member

*******************************

Our View: State facing massive deficit, Norwich Bulletin, June 24, 2008 http://www.norwichbulletin.com/opinions/x822806938/Our-View-State-facing-massive-deficit

Gov. M. Jodi Rell said last week her steps to address the state budget deficit for the fiscal year have been promising, although some additional efforts are needed to avoid ending the year in the red. It now is projected the state�s shortfall will be a little less than $20 million, down from $53 million just a month ago. The governor, however, remains confident that additional savings can be found during the next two weeks to erase that.� The bigger problem, however, is next year�s budget � projected at a $150 million deficit. This is the same budget the governor and legislative leaders agreed not to tinker with in the closing weeks of the legislative session. Addressing that projected shortfall will require, as the governor put it Friday, additional cuts that � as unwelcome as they may be � will no doubt be necessary.� State agencies and organizations that rely on state funds will begin the new fiscal year July 1 with approved budgets. It would have been fairer to all if, instead of doing nothing, the governor and legislature began the process of looking at spending reductions sooner rather than later.

*******************************

SHOULD WE BE SURPRISED BY THE RED INK IN

THE STATE BUDGET OR THE PENDING $49 BILLION STATE DEBT?

No, we were warned when the State released the� 2006� State Fiscal Accountability Report which highlighted the following�.

�

�� The state is projected to experience deficits at the end of FY2007-08, 2008-09

�� and 2009-10 based on current services requests.

The state faces significant long-term obligations including debt, unfunded pension liabilities and unfunded post-employment retirement benefits which are estimated to exceed $49 billion in total.

View the Full Report at the following link �..� http://www.ct.gov/opm/LIB/opm/Budget/FiscalAccountability/FiscalAccountability2006Report.pdf

*******************************

Keep your eye on state bonding�

State bond commission membership, meetings and agendas http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=3010&Q=382918

Check to see who is getting our bonded money

http://www.osc.state.ct.us/finance/options.htm

For profit businesses who recently benefitted from our bonded debt

http://www.osc.state.ct.us/finance/queries/recipient2.asp

*******************************

New York Times Reported Connecticut is Debt Free � Oops Article dated Oct, 1918 http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C03E7DF1539E13ABC4A53DFB6678383609EDE

*******************************

Decline in public school enrollment in CT

New Haven Register, By: Mary E. O'Leary, Register Topics,� Editor

06/26/2008 Mary E. O�Leary can be reached at 789-5731 or moleary@nhregister.com.

�We�re just not as fertile anymore. Baby boomers have failed to replace themselves, and the same is expected of the echo-boom, which has scientists projecting a long decline in the number of schoolchildren in the state, with a related drop in need for expanded facilities.� Demographers at the Connecticut State Data Center Wednesday said the decline started last year, and by 2020, they projected it would have dropped 17 percent from a high of 523,100 in the 2003-04 school year.� Continued at http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=19808671&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=624602&rfi=8

Additional Information at the Connecticut State Data Center: http://ctsdc.uconn.edu/

*******************************

West Hartford Budget Cuts Criticized

By DANIEL P. JONES And VANESSA DE LA TORRE | Courant Staff Writers

June 27, 2008 WEST HARTFORD � - The West Hartford Taxpayers Association considers the more than $2 million that was cut from the town budget this week � including the loss of about 39 school and municipal jobs � a slap in the face to residents. A lot of the cuts seemed to be very petty, said group Vice President Judy Aron. Continued �. http://www.courant.com/community/news/hfd/hc-whdbudget0627.artjun27,0,6434298.story

*******************************

Governor Rell Signs Two Bills to

Benefit Connecticut First Responders

http://www.ct.gov/governorrell/cwp/view.asp?a=3293&Q=416892&PM=1

*******************************

Congress passes new Iraq war funds

Fri Jun 27, 2008 3:17am EDT

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved $161.8 billion in new funds to continue fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the next year, without timetables for withdrawing combat troops.

The House of Representatives passed an identical bill last week. President George W. Bush is expected to promptly sign the measure into law once he receives it from Congress.� Continued at http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2648734820080627?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

*******************************

Gasoline demand, oil prices lower

By Bloomberg, AP and Staff Reports
6/26/2008, Last Modified: 6/26/2008 4:38 AM

Oil futures fell sharply Wednesday after the Energy Department said the nation's supplies of fuel and oil were larger than expected last week � evidence that the soaring price for gasoline has sliced into Americans' demand for fuel.� Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell $2.45 to settle at $134.55 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.�� In its weekly inventory report, the department's Energy Information Administration said crude oil supplies rose slightly last week. Analysts surveyed by research firm Platts had expected a 1.7 million barrel decline.�� Gasoline supplies fell less than expected. And inventories of distillates, which include diesel fuel and heating oil, rose much more than expected.� Demand for gasoline, meanwhile, fell 2.1 percent.�� Continued http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=20080626_5_E1_spanc15376

*******************************

Midwest levee breaks, corn price at new high

Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:30pm EDT By Carey Gillam

WINFIELD, Missouri (Reuters) - The Mississippi River on Friday burst through an earthen levee that may have been weakened by burrowing muskrats, swamping a Missouri town and adding to billion-dollar losses in U.S. Midwest flooding that has fueled fears of soaring world food prices.� Continued�. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2745863920080627?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

*******************************

Congratulations to Judy Aron on her very informative website:

Consent of the Governed

http://yedies.blogspot.com/