HARTFORD, CT — Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy acknowledged Wednesday in a letter to legislative leaders that revenue projections are eroding and it’s time to start budget negotiations.
The Office of Fiscal Analysis reported Wednesday that revenues were $293 million, or 20.4 percent behind projections.
Malloy’s budget office had largely ignored newer revenue estimates for the past three months.
“We have acknowledged our current revenue shortfall and OPM now projects that we could lose hundreds of millions of dollars towards next year’s budget once the consensus revenue process is complete next week,” Malloy wrote. “Given that, and without a formal proposal from your Appropriations and Finance Committees, we must chart a course together for reaching a responsible, balanced budget for the coming biennium.”
Democratic legislative leaders were still holding out hope for a revenue package, but the party only has a one vote majority on the committee and it’s still unclear whether it will come to fruition.