FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2022
CONTACT
[email protected]
Hartford, CT — With responsible leadership and Connecticut values, Gov. Lamont has shored up a $5 billion surplus and made historic payments to our pension debts, allowing the state to invest in our future.
On his first day in office, Governor Lamont said “Let’s fix this damn budget once and for all!” Three years later, he turned a nearly 4 billion dollar state budget deficit into a record $5.6 billion surplus. [CT Office of Comptroller, FY23 Budget Forecast, 9/20/22]
After inheriting billions in deficits and soaring long-term debt, Governor Lamont has delivered a Connecticut comeback with record surpluses of billions of dollars. Just recently, this year’s surplus, according to the most recent Comptroller’s report, showed a $5.6 billion in surplus.
That builds on previous budgets that delivered record surpluses, allowing Connecticut to pay down billions in long-term debt, saving our kids and grandkids billions.
Pension payments made under Governor Lamont “will save taxpayers $500 million a year for the next 25 years — in effect, a tax cut.” [CT Post, Dan Haar Column, 9/24/22]
In a feat that has eluded Connecticut politicians for decades, the state’s record surplus built under Gov. Lamont allowed the state to pay down $3.7 billion in long term pension debt, “the largest pension payments in state history” saving taxpayers an estimated $11.5 billion over the next 24 years, amounting to $440 million annually. [Hartford Courant, 7/7/22]
Taking a responsible approach, Governor Lamont simultaneously passed the largest tax cuts in state history, putting $660 million back in the pockets of Connecticut residents.
It’s no wonder then, that Wall Street has upgraded its outlook on Connecticut for the first time in a generation.
As the Mirror noted in March 2021 headline, “Wall Street agency gives CT its first bond rating upgrade in 20 years.” [CT Mirror, 3/31/21]
BACKGROUND
Pension payments “will save taxpayers $500 million a year for the next 25 years — in effect, a tax cut.” [CT Post, Dan Haar Column, 9/24/22]
Under Gov. Lamont, a Wall Street agency gave CT its first bond rating upgrade in 20 years. [CT Mirror, 3/31/21]
Comptroller announced the transfer of $2.8 billion toward paying down pension debt. [CT Office of Comptroller, 9/21/22]
On his first day in office, Governor Lamont said “Let’s fix this damn budget once and for all!” Three years later, he turned a nearly 4 billion dollar state budget deficit into a record $5.6 billion surplus. CT Office of Comptroller, FY23 Budget Forecast, 9/20/22]
Gov Lamont’s first budget in 2019 closed a $3.7 billion deficit, ending a decade-long cycle of deficits and allowed the state to refinance the state’s debt at one of the lowest relative interest rates the state had seen in years, saving taxpayers more than $42 million. [Middletown Press, 6/4/19; Office of Governor Ned Lamont, Press Release, 7/26/19]
###