Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Board of Selectmen voted Wednesday evening to have a March 13 standalone referendum for Ridgefield's voters to decide whether the town should contribute $5 million on top of a promised $15 million donation to go ahead with the Ridgefield Library Assoc
After several years of funding requests and a subsequently rigorous campaign to secure donations, a $20 million library renovation in Ridgefield is one step closer to breaking ground. The Board of Selectmen voted Wednesday evening to have a March 13 standalone referendum for Ridgefield's voters to decide whether the town should contribute $5 million on top of a promised $15 million donation to go ahead with the Ridgefield Library Association's plans for renovating the existing building. First Selectman Rudy Marconi and Selectmen Andrew Bodner and Maureen Kozlark voted in favor of the early referendum, while Selectwoman Barbara Manners voted against having the vote in March. Selectwoman Di Masters abstained due to a possible conflict of …
Gov. Dannel Malloy keyed in on education during his 'state of the state' speech.
Asking for boldness and big ideas, Gov. Dannel Malloy, urged lawmakers and business owners to come together and commit to “nothing less than a full-scale economic revival.” One of the main elements of Malloy’s plan involves reforming schools to allow incentives for the best teachers, to restructure tenure so that it has to be continually earned and to provide more money to troubled schools “Today tenure is too easy to get and too hard to take away,” he said in prepared statements made available to the press. “I propose we do it a different way. I propose we hold every teacher to a standard of excellence.” Under his proposed $128 million education agenda, 80 percent would go to the worst districts. In order for the schools to get the money…
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The proposal will be included in the governor's legislative package for the upcoming 2012 regular session of the General Assembly.
Gov. Dannel Malloy announced on Tuesday a proposal to eliminate 25 of Connecticut's Boards and Commissions in an effort to shrink the size of its government, according to a statement released by his office. “Over the years when these boards and commissions were first created by statute, most of them served a worthwhile purpose for their time, however many either no longer fit today’s needs, or their functions can be or already are served by another state body that already exists,” Malloy said in the statement. “It’s incumbent upon us from time-to-time to review and reconsider whether these state boards and commissions are still serving their original purpose, are duplicative, or have completed their tasks.” The Adult Literacy Leadership …
Monday, February 6, 2012
“I’m completely cognizant that we’re not out of the woods yet,” Perone said.
FIRST DAY FESTIVITIES When the General Assembly reconvenes on Feb. 8, local lawmakers plan to mark the day with more simplicity than spectacle. “I’ve nothing planned so far for Opening Day,” said state Rep. Fred Camillo, a Republican representing Greenwich in the 151st House District. “I usually bring several friends and family members up, but this year have been busy with projects and work in the home district so I need to think about that in the coming days.” State Rep. Gail Lavielle, a Republican representing Wilton, Norwalk in the 143rd House District, said she plans to attend breakfast caucus and then will adjourn for lunch afterwards. “As for Opening Day, this will be my 14th, but it still remains very exciting and humbling to begin …
Friday, February 3, 2012
The proposal includes bond funding for a statewide rating and improvement system, according to the Hartford Courant.
Gov. Malloy announced on Thursday a $12 million proposal to improve early childhood education programs, according to the Hartford Courant. Malloy's proposal includes $4 million to send 500 children from low-income families to preschool, $5 million in bond funding to create a statewide Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (TQRIS) and $3 million to give both professionals and non-professionals incentives to continue their early childhood education training. According to the Courant, the proposal was mostly drawn from the state's federal "Race to the Top" application, which deemed unsuccessful last year. “I’ve spoken of the importance of early childhood education for many years now,” Malloy said in a statement. “When I was mayor…
Monday, January 30, 2012
Hot topics in Hartford.
READ ALL ABOUT IT The Nutmeg State seems to be making headlines lately — for all the wrong reasons, said one local lawmaker. State Sen. Toni Boucher, a Republican representing Bethel, Ridgefield, New Canaan, Weston, Westport and Wilton in the 26th Senate District, said state leaders must address the recent spate of negative news. Recent articles, some of which have made national news, include that Connecticut is the most heavily taxed state in the nation, that Connecticut has the highest debt per capita of any state, that the state received a bond downgrade from Moody’s and that Connecticut is the worst state in which to retire. Benjamin Barnes, Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, called Moody’s …
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Department of Children and Families will see its budget reduced by $28.4 million, according to the Day.
Gov. Dannel Malloy announced Tuesday that he would make $78.6 million in emergency spending cuts, according to The Day. Malloy said that the cuts, which are being made to put the state budget back into balance, are due to declining state tax projections. The Department of Children and Families' budget will see the biggest reduction by $28.4 million, while, according to the Connecticut Mirror, budgets for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction and the Department of Education will be reduced by $14.5 million and $3.2 million, respectively. Cuts are also being made to cultural institutions across the state, including the Mystic Aquarium. Malloy told reporters that additional budget cutting in the mid-year would not be ruled out. …
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The governor is working to fully fund the plan by 2032, according to the Associated Press.
Gov. Dannel Malloy announced a proposal on Monday that would allow the state's employee pension system, which contains less than 48 percent of its necessary funds, to be fully funded by 2032, according to the Associated Press. Malloy is proposing that the state increase its contribution to the fund by $125 million next year and subsequent years, which will allow the fund to achieve 80 percent funding in 2025 and 100 percent funding in 2032. He will announce to the General Assembly next month how he plans to cover the first payment. “Let’s put what we’re doing another way — too many people wait until they are older to start saving for their retirement, and as a result they have to make large payments at the end in order to make it work, …
Monday, January 23, 2012
Lawmakers consider how to right the budget and voters' rights.
WE’RE NOT IN THE MONEY The Office of Policy Management and the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis crunched the numbers and came up short. The agencies announced an agreement on consensus revenue that shows a decline of $94.9 million in FY12 or one-half of one percent of the annual budget, according to a press release. Additionally, the estimates for FY13 show a decline of $139 million, or seven-tenths of a percent of the annual budget. This announcement had many GOP legislators seeing red. “The state budget is teetering on the edge of the deficit cliff, even though everyone is paying $1.7 billion more in taxes this year,” state Rep. Gail Lavielle, a Republican representing Wilton and Norwalk in the 143rd House District, said. “Now we …
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Dave Ulmer was voted by fellow Board of Finance members Wednesday evening as chair of the board along with Paul Sutherland, who was voted in as vice-chair.
Dave Ulmer was voted by fellow Board of Finance members Wednesday evening as chair of the board along with Paul Sutherland, who was voted in as vice-chair. Both Democrats, November's election marked the first time in decades that the party held a majority on the Board of Finance with Ulmer, Sutherland and board member Jessica Mancini. Although the vote for Ulmer as chair was unanimous, the vice-chair vote was split along party lines.
paul d.
9:23 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Mr. Bodner is correct and I applaud him for his comments. I just don't get where Ms. Manners is coming from on this and exactly what she thinks will be the effect of including what I am calling the, "Manners clause." This clause requires "facilities" (which are buildings and land, not people) be "sensitive." I guess this is why we need so many lawyers after governments make regulations and laws. more ›