In his first monthly financial update for Fiscal Year 2024, state Comptroller Sean Scanlon projected a General Fund surplus of $390.2 million and a Special Transportation Fund surplus of $204.2 million. These estimates align with projections from the Office of Policy and Management earlier this month.
However, the $390.2 million General Fund surplus is $9.5 million below projections due to unbudgeted requirements in the adjudicated claims account.
Scanlon also revealed plans to transfer $1.9 billion from the Budgetary Reserve Fund (BRF) into the State Employees and Teachers’ Retirement Systems by the end of Fiscal Year 2023. An initial $1.3 billion will be moved in September, followed by the remaining amount once the operating surplus for FY 2023 is finalized in December.
“As we begin Fiscal Year 2024, Connecticut’s fiscal responsibility continues to create real results while paying down our pension debt and spurring job growth,” said Scanlon. “I look forward to working with Governor Lamont and the legislature to ensure we maintain and enact policies that continue to promote prosperity in Connecticut.”
In a letter to Lamont, Scanlon indicated that inflation has eased to 3.2%, although slightly above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. This comes after inflation peaked at a staggering 9.1% in June 2022.
Connecticut’s job landscape also presents an encouraging picture. The state added 19,200 jobs this year following a gain of 26,800 jobs in 2022. Moreover, the unemployment tally has dipped below 70,000 for the first time since August 2019, reinforcing the state’s strong economic position.
However, the housing market continues to suffer from high mortgage rates and a lack of inventory. In Connecticut year-over-year sales of single-family homes decreased 28.5% and new listings were down 25.86% in July.
