Free Response - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

_ Case 3:03-cv—00221-AVC Document 109-3 Filed 04/10/2006 Page 1 014

Case 3:03-cv-00221-AVC Document 109-3 Filed 04/10/2006 Page 2 of 4
STATE BUDGET COMPROMISE PREDICTED; [6/7 SPORTS FINAL Edition]
CHRISTOPHER KEA TING, Courant Stajj‘"Wr1`ter. Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Nov I6,
2002. pg. B.]
People: Rowland, John G, Dyson, William, Farr, Robert, Pagani, Dean
Author(s): CHRISTOPHER KEATING, Courant Staff Writer
Section: CONNECTICUT
Publication title: Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Nov 16, 2002. pg- B.]
_ Source type: Newspaper
.2 ProQuest document [D: 239761111
Text Word Count 809
Document URL: http:/x'proquest.umi.comIpqdweb‘?did=239761 1 l l&sid=l&F1nt=3&cli
entId=6l 723 &RQT=3 09&VName=PQD
Abstract (Document Summaty)
One day after Gov. John G. Rowland threatened to lay off 3,000 unionized state employees,
several prominent legislators predicted Friday that a budgetary compromise will be reached that
- will avoid widespread layoffs.
The state faced a far worse fiscal crisis when the state income tax first was enacted in 1991, and
the layoffs were never as severe as projected because the unions made concessions, legislators
j said. An entire second round of layoffs that [Lowell P. Weicker Jr.] proposed was rescinded
because of employee give~backs.
The unions began the day by saying that there must have been a misunderstanding by Rowland
because they are fully prepared to negotiate an early-retirement package to avoid layoffs. The
unions' coalition asked for a meeting with Rowland to discuss the early- retirement plan, but
Rowland's chief of staff, Dean Pagani, said meetings could be held only if there are no pre-
conditions.
Full Text (809 words)
‘j (Copyright The Hartford Courant 2002)
- One day after Gov. John G. Rowland threatened to lay off 3,000 unionized state employees,
several prominent legislators predicted Friday that a budgetary compromise will be
. reached that will avoid widespread layoffs.
l While some state employees said they were nervous and considered Rowland's threat to be real,
some veteran lawmakers said they expect a cornucopia of give-backs and concessions to be
approved -- once the rhetoric cools down.
_ Rowland and the unions continued squabbling Friday over the layoff proposal, and did not set a
date for any new talks to help plug the state‘s projected $500 million budget gap for the current

Case 3:03-cv-00221-AVC Document 109-3 Filed O4/10/2006 Page 3 of 4
fiscal year.
Both Republican and Democratic legislators, who have seen similar threats in the past from
_ former governors Ella T. Grasso and Lowell P. Weicker Jr., said laying off 6 percent ofthe
state's workforce would have a negative effect on state services and be devastating to the families
of the laid-off workers.
"Those layoffs are going to be very hard to come by," said Rep. William R. Dyson, a New Haven
Democrat who has co-chaired the legislatures budget-writing committee since 1989. "It makes
some assumptions that are unreal. It assumes there's some fat around. You just dcn‘t do that in
this [economic and budgetary] climate. Then the layoff becomes a threat -- a kind of
-_ sledgehammer that will be used to get some kind of concessions out of labor. "
_` State employees are involved in caring for some of the frailest members of society, and they are
needed in places like the Department of Children and Families to monitor abused children,
Dyson said.
- "Where will the layoffs conre from? DCF? Mental health?" Dyson asked. "When the smoke
clears, I think [layoffs] will be very rrrinimal, if any."
The state faced a far worse fiscal crisis when the state income tax first was enacted in 1991, and
_ the layoffs were never as severe as projected because the unions made concessions, legislators
said. An entire second round of layoffs that Weicker proposed was rescinded because of
employee give-backs.
Rather than layoffs, the solution likely will come from a mixture of items that could include
wage freezes, early retirements, increased co-payments for prescription drugs, hiring freezes and
attrition, according to Dyson and other lawmakers.
"I have a district full of state employees, and they're constantly telling me they'd like an early
retirement plan," said Rep. Robert Farr, a West l—Iartfor·d Republican with more than 20 years of
_ experience at the Capitol.
_" He dismissed the idea of imposing the so·called "millionaire's tax" on high-income residents this
--; year as unworkable. "Retroactivity on taxes is a horrible idea," he said. "The millionaire‘s tax
doesn‘t get you out of this year‘s hole." It has been projected to raise about $140 million a year ·-
less than one third the projected deficit for the current fiscal year.
Simply postponing pay raises for more than 50,000 state employees would save millions of
dollars every year, and concessions from everyone is far preferable to layoffs for a few, Farr
said.
"lf you spread this out, it isn't as painful," Farr said. "You just want to spread the pain."
Deputy House Republican leader Brian Flaherty, whose father is a retired state employee, said
that serious talks need to begin soon, and the unions need to avoid posturing because lawmakers

Case 3:03-cv—O0221-AVC Document 109-3 Filed O4/10/2006 Page 4 of 4
must fill the gap in the current budget year. The projected deficit could grow an additional $1.5
billion over the next two years.
"Maybe this is part of a dance routine, but it better be a one- minute waltz because we don't have
a lot of time lett," Flaherty said.
` While lawmakers were looking for a compromise, Rowland and the unions were not talking
. Friday.
The unions began the day by saying that there must have been a misunderstanding by Rowland
because they are fully prepared to negotiate an early—retirement package to avoid layoffs. The
._ unions‘ coalition asked for a meeting with Rowland to discuss the early- retirement plan, but
Rowland's chief of staff, Dean Pagani, said meetings could be held only if there are no pre-
fj conditions.
l He dismissed a three-paragraph letter from union attorney Dan Livingston, which said the state
_ employees would talk about an early- retirement deal if it were not linked to $89 million in give-
_‘._ backs in the current budget year and an annualized $450 million in concessions in subsequent
_ years.
""We think it‘s fundamentally irresponsible of [the governor] to be talking about layoffs,"
Livingston said. "No responsible governor would be doing layoffs now in the state of
Connecticut, the wealthiest state in the nation."
Pagani, though, said that the door is not closed, and Rowland is still open to negotiations next
_ week.
l "If the union leadership wants to come back to the table, as they did on Wednesday, and talk
about a concession package that could include an early retirement plan, that’s fine," Pagani said.