Finally a Norwalk area legilslator is publicly pushing for more Educational funding for Norwalk. Larry Cafero-R, House Minority Leader, presented an alternative budget to the one proposed by Governor Rell and the one proposed by the Democratic leadership.

The part to like, the House GOP plan calls for no tax increases. “We believe the state can meet the needs of its citizens within existing revenues. It is irresponsible to further burden taxpayers without ever examining ways to meet their needs without raising taxes,” said Cafero to the Hartford Courant.

Of course the GOP plan is based on the premise that the state runs a surplus, which is a debatable prospect considering that the pension funds have been underfunded, and that the state doesn’t follow GAAP. So part of the problem with this one, and really with all the proposed budgets is that they all start off with numbers based on projected revenues, based off historical projections, not really actual revenues booked. This one of the reasons  why the conflicting assessments of whether the state is in surplus or deficit is an ongoing thing. The other reasons range along the lines of whether to include the pension liabilities or not. In the end, the state borrows money to make up the underfunding, so its not like this is a legitimate accounting practice. New Jersey has recently made the news with the looming pension funding gamesmanship that has been happening for years. Connecticut shouldn’t be following that example.

The highlights of the GOP proposal from the Courant:

It would restore the sales tax exemption on clothing and footwear, eliminate an electricity sales tax on businesses, eliminate the $250 business entity tax, increase the income tax exemption on pensions, fund a new program that helps new college graduates save money to buy a home, and provide additional funding for education.

The Hour outlined Cafero’s comments regarding the impact cities liek Norwalk would benefit:

Cafero and Norwalk Public Schools Instructional Specialist for Grants Administration Carol Marinaccio discussed with parents at the meeting the state and federal funds that annually come into the city. Cafero criticized the two budget plans currently on the table — from Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the Democratic majority — and said his third budget will revamp the state’s Education Cost Sharing Formula.

“Norwalk finds itself in a weird place because we’re located on the gold coast of Connecticut. Because the value of our property is much higher than other cities in the state, we’re considered a wealthy city by the Educational Cost Sharing formula,” Cafero said of the formula that disperses state funds to municipalities for education. “Because of that, we do not get the money we need, even though we’re the sixth largest city in Connecticut and have as diverse a population as you can find.”

Cafero’s new education money distribution plan would define town wealth differently than the grand list formula that’s currently used. The minority leader, who was a member of the Norwalk Board of Education for six years, suggested wealth be defined as the “average of each town’s per capita income, median household income and equalized net grand list per capita.”

Cafero’s plan, which would funnel $1 billion in additional funds into education over the next 10 years, would eliminate the cap. Municipalities currently cannot receive more than a 6 percent increase — regardless of what the town is entitled to under the formula.

Cities such as Norwalk could benefit from the plan, Cafero said, because the new formula would place a greater emphasis on sending funds to cities with students learning English as a second language, and it would reward schools where Connecticut Mastery Test scores improve.

In addition the Hour reported that:

The overall price tag of the Republican plan is about $200,000 less than the governor’s and $500,000 less than the Democrats’. All three budgets exceed the state spending cap in the first year, but stay under the cap in the second.

Among the Republican budget’s health care allocations are an $87 million boost in Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals, $50 million in reimbursements to other providers and $14 million to increase enrollment in HUSKY.

Highlights of the education package include $1.1 billion to fund the teachers’ retirement system and a reworking of the allocation formula that would, among other things, eliminate a cap on funding increases to potentially increase the haul of cities such as Norwalk, as reported in The Hour Monday.

Republicans’ “Learn Here, Live Here” initiative, introduced in January, would receive $20 million in the new budget. The project attempts to keep young people from leaving Connecticut after earning their degrees by depositing income tax receipts into a state-controlled, interest-earning account that can be used for up to 10 years after initiation to help them buy homes.

But the principal selling point of the Republican agenda is to ensure that taxpayers are not held accountable for rising expenditures. It lies in opposition to a Democratic proposal that matches higher spending with tax hikes, including for couples earning more than $150,000 per year. Cafero has criticized the plan as damaging to largely middle-class Fairfield County and unnecessary in light of the budget surplus.

The tax cuts are an interesting assortment. They include an exemption for sales tax on energy-related products, the elimination of sales tax on electricity for businesses and a tax credit for individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance.

It will be interesting to see if a debate of the three proposals produces a stronger, and better budget for the state. It will also be interesting to see how Norwalk will fare in the budget debate.

source:  The Courant, House Republicans offer up no-tax increase budget alternative, April 25, 2007

source: The Hour, Cafero unveils $1B hope for education, By ANNA GUSTAFSON, April 24, 2007

source: The Hour,State GOPs present ‘no tax increase’ budget, By MAX HADLER, April 25, 2007