Connecticut Government Jobs Cut Under New Budget

Posted on February 5, 2009

Hundreds of Connecticut government jobs could be lost because of the state’s new budget.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell recently released a two-year budget that totals $38.4 billion. While the budget doesn’t include any tax increases, it does cut hundreds of Connecticut jobs, commissions and agencies, according to an article by The Associated Press. The budget would eliminate 400 jobs through layoffs, attrition or reorganization, 450 vacant jobs, 23 commissions and agencies and other possible higher education positions.

The suggested commissions to be cut include the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, the Asian-Pacific Affairs Commission, the African-American Affairs Commission and the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission. The budget also calls for $275 million in concessions from state unions, raises license fees and imposes new license charges on bad drivers and those convicted of serious motor vehicle crimes.

No new jobs will be created under the budget. The only new spending in the budget includes $7.5 million to create a Connecticut Civilian Conservation Corps for the unemployed. That program would look like one created during the Great Depression and would allow eligible men and women to earn money while working on state and local public works projects.

The State of Connecticut is hoping these cuts will help close the impending budget gap. The state’s budget office is expecting a $6 billion budget deficit during the next two fiscal years, while the Office of Fiscal Analysis thinks that gap could reach $8.6 billion.

Connecticut also is hoping to receive $2 billion in federal stimulus money during the next three years. The House Appropriations Committee says of the stimulus money, Connecticut could receive $1.16 billion for infrastructure improvements, including highway, bridge and sewer construction, and $403 million for school renovations.

The budget must now be approved by the General Assembly.