[beerisgood02]

Malloy: State workers to get layoff notices in about two weeks

The major round of state employee layoffs that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration has been hinting at since February is about two weeks away, the governor said Wednesday.

Malloy, who said the precise number would hinge, in part, on the number of worker retirement applications filed by Friday, also predicted the next round of budget-balancing would be much more difficult than the deficit-mitigation plan approved Tuesday.

Also Wednesday, leaders of the Republican minorities in the Senate and House warned that Tuesday’s bipartisan effort to close a $220 million gap in 2015-16 finances doesn’t guarantee more agreement across party lines when it comes to the next state budget.

State spending in 2016-17 is on pace to run more than $900 million in the red, and GOP leaders insist that Democrats must make “structural changes” to reduce labor costs significantly if they want Republican support.

Malloy, who met with Capitol reporters after a closed-door meeting with legislative leaders late Wednesday morning, said pink slips will be issued by mid-April.

“I think the time frame is a couple of weeks, give or take a couple of days,” the governor said.

The layoff process is extremely complicated, and labor contracts give most unionized workers served with pink slips — under certain circumstances — to remain employed by “bumping” a less-senior worker off the job.

Malloy said his layoff plan would try to minimize instances where workers might employ bumping rights.

He also declined to identify exactly how many layoffs would be ordered, though he insisted it would be “a very, very substantial number.”

The governor also encouraged state workers considering retirement this spring to do so. “If you can retire, please retire,” he said. “It can save somebody else’s job.”

Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said the governor told legislative leaders that he expects the layoffs — coupled with retirements — to eventually produce annual savings in the “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

When asked to confirm Looney’s statement, Malloy replied: “Why would I doubt him?”

Malloy and legislators met one day after the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a plan to close a $220 million deficit in the fiscal year that ends June 30.

The legislature’s budget-writing panels are expected to produce options next week to close a the $900 million shortfall that nonpartisan analysts are tracking for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, and Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, have urged since last April tighter controls on overtime spending and new restrictions on longevity pay and worker health and retirement benefits.

These changes, many of which could only be implemented through negotiations with state employee unions, could significantly reduce deficits in future years, GOP lawmakers have said.

Union leaders have said they are not willing to grant concessions, noting that workers gave in 2009 and 2011. Instead they have urged officials to boost taxes on wealthy households and major corporations.

Malloy and his fellow Democrats in legislative leadership also rejected the idea of concessions last year, though they support that approach this spring.

Klarides said that while she was happy Democrats and Republicans agreed on spending cuts this week to balance 2015-16 finances, Democrats and union leaders need to cut labor costs if the bipartisan mood is to continue.

Now it’s a new day,” Klarides said. “We’ll see what progress they make.”

“If we don’t get structural changes, I don’t see Republicans on this (2016-17) package,” Fasano said.

[RunD1987]

Hartford Public Schools cutting 200 job's

[clamshack203]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

I definitely agree FL and Miami would end up on most positive "one of 10 most ___" lists but I don't see Yale finding anything special there compared to what other places might be on those lists. Miami is important as a hub for South American business... Yale doesn't need to be physically present in Miami, like many companies might for face-time, to get interest from that market. And how many students from South American countries - or even American hispanic - does Yale have anyway that might demonstrate interest in that area? Very few... even for a 50-year view.

I don't know that an ivy league school would think "Where should we locate a new campus? How about the #3 biggest state." #3 is a little neither here nor there, not to mention those people know that anywhere Harvard, Yale, etc. locates students will gladly go.

I'm not knocking FL but I just don't see it as a destination for an ivy league campus. Maybe LA, SF, Chicago, DC, though.

But it makes a ton of sense for the Gov of Florida to try. And its not that far fetched for Yale to ponder it, particularly a satellite campus. The modernization of central and south America is coming and it will yield more power and influence as a result. If not Yale, maybe another top flight institution would like to come to south Florida and be a part of that trend for the next 100 years.

There are probably just three states that could call Yale to talk about a satellite campus; CA, TX and FL.

[Mr_250]

He's trying, you can't fault him. He got one company to move to Florida. A ridgefield company is moving down there.

Side note: that manufacturing company that Malloy likes to taut, Pegasus manufacturing, was bought out by a company in Missouri today. That means they are no longer headquartered here. There goes that one.

2,000 plus layoffs, moving companies. What else can go?

2016 will be a tough year.

[BicoastalAnn]

Yep I definitely don't fault anyone for trying to attract business. I can only hope Malloy is going around making those kind of pitches too.

[BPt111]

Gov. Malloy says businesses should move to Connecticut because it’s “welcoming and inclusive.”


Connecticut governor makes pitch to North Carolina companies | WTNH Connecticut News

[RunD1987]

I mean that's like pitching a person to buy a home I an active Volcano

[hucareshokiesrul]

Yale has already opened up an affiliated campus in Singapore. If they do it again, it will be in Asia (or at the very least outside the US).

I don't think any of this really means anything. CT won't tax Yale, and Yale won't leave.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

I mean that's like pitching a person to buy a home I an active Volcano

So Florida, a state whose economy is largely based on Medicare fraud, it's ok but for CT it's an active volcano?

[EUPL]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinqu.../#2d501bdfc6f0

Great article.


Connecticut’s destructive tax policies are affecting more than just high-income earners. According to Finance Committee member Rep. Chris Davis, “Parents owning a particularly large farm might have to sell it simply because their children, who otherwise would inherit it and continue to work the land, can’t afford to pay the estate tax.” The Connecticut State Tax Panel agrees and recommended mitigating the estate tax.
Given the right economic opportunity, workers and businesses can, and do, easily move from one state to another. Reforming estate and gift tax policies is a significant step in the right direction towards economic stability for Connecticut. Once this is accomplished, state leaders should consider a complete review of the state’s tax policies and take into consideration the realities of 21st century mobility.


AMEN