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Malloy Cuts All State Aid To Fairfield Schools In New Proposed Budget

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- Gov. Dannel Malloy released a revised budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year Tuesday, which includes completely eliminating education cost sharing grants for 11 Fairfield County towns while maintaining full funding for its four large cities.

Gov. Dannel Malloy

Gov. Dannel Malloy

Photo Credit: Jay Polansky, File

The proposed cuts are aimed at reducing the state's projected $922 million deficit in the budget approved last year. 

Statewide, the cuts in Education Cost Sharing grants total $43.4 million. 

Here is a breakdown of the cuts for every municipality in Fairfield County. The list includes the new amount proposed by Malloy in state aid to the schools, followed by the amount of the cut from the original budget:

  • Bethel: $7,932,925, a cut of $383,843
  • Bridgeport: $182,266,724, no cut
  • Brookfield: $1,421,294, a cut of $143,199
  • Danbury: $31,698,975, no cut
  • Darien: $0, a cut of $1,616,006 
  • Easton: $0, a cut of $593,868
  • Fairfield: $0, a cut of $3,590,008
  • Greenwich: $0, a cut of $3,418,642
  • Monroe: $6,262,588, a cut of $354,081
  • New Canaan: $0, a cut of $1,495,604
  • New Fairfield: $4,252,170, a cut of $240,652
  • Newtown: $4,352,832, a cut of $752,825
  • Norwalk: $11,551,095, no cut
  • Redding: $0, a cut of $687,733
  • Ridgefield: $0, a cut of $2,063,814
  • Shelton: $4,966,672, a cut of $1,233,138
  • Sherman: $0, a cut of $244,327
  • Stamford: $11,109,306, no cut 
  • Stratford: $20,845,788, a cut of $975,098
  • Trumbull: $3,093,693, a cut of $610,019
  • Weston: $0, a cut of $948,564
  • Westport: $0, a cut of $1,988,255
  • Wilton: $0, a cut of $1,557,195

The new recommended budget proposal totals $19.77 billion. The state legislature had originally approved a $20.438 billion budget for the 2017 fiscal year during a special session last June.

"We have an obligation as elected officials to tackle the full scope of our challenge. That means we must align our spending with the revenue we actually have, not the revenue we wish we had. Our expectations need to change - we cannot afford to fund everything we always have. And we need to change the way we budget," Malloy said. 

"If we are to do what's right for the state, if we are to put Connecticut on a better path for the long-term, then we need to make tough but necessary decisions now to adapt to our new economic reality. That's what this budget does."

In February, Malloy proposed an adjusted budget of $19.87 billion in an effort to make up for shortfalls projected by the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis. The further revisions released Tuesday cut $100 million in additional funds to address the entirety of the OFA deficit projection.

Among the measures taken to make up the deficit include asking non-union employees, appointees and elected officials in the executive, legal and judicial branches to pay 20 percent for their health care benefits, which Malloy said would save $5 million per year.

Malloy said the new proposal identifies and maintains funding for core services, as well as maintains funding for support for the developmental disabled, maintains $11.8 million for the small hospital pool, supports elderly rental assistance, and creates a more equitable distribution of education cost sharing grants.

The legislature must approve a budget for the new fiscal year before it adjourns on May 4. 

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