What semeed like a likely deal earlier in the summer has fallen apart now according to a report in the Advocate. Brian Lockhart reports:
The governor and Democratic leaders remain at odds over a bond package for capital projects, with $10 million in earmarks for Stamford, Norwalk, Greenwich and neighboring municipalities at stake.
Four months ago, the General Assembly’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee unanimously passed a $3.4 billion bonding package, which borrows money for projects statewide.
The two-year plan was supposed to be negotiated with Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and approved by the General Assembly during a summer special session. But it appears the talks have reached an impasse.
“We’re not close at all,” said Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn.
The bonding package sets aside funding for school construction, economic development, manufacturing assistance, clean water initiatives and preserving farm land and open space.
With declining populations it seems to me that delaying school construction projects might make some sense when bridge and road repair has become a more fashionable spending request. This is where state legislatures might want to look at the historical trend of population and then future trends to figure out who is exactly living and working in the the state.
The 10-member State Bond Commission, run by Rell, meets monthly to borrow money for projects in the package.
It is a way for legislators to target money to their districts. The Finance Committee’s proposal would spend more than $188.5 million on nearly 150 smaller projects, including about a dozen in lower Fairfield County.
In April, Rell criticized the Finance Committee’s proposal as a “grossly overloaded collection of pork projects and power grabs” that spends 30 percent over her bonding package.
“There is a limit to what we can borrow,” said Robert Genuario, state budget director. “We generally support less local projects and more projects of statewide significance.”
Rell has told Williams and House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, that she will support spending $40 million on a list of priorities submitted by legislative leaders, Genuario said.
Williams said Democrats are looking for $150 million.
Amann said he would consider Rell’s $40 million offer if he thought she would honor a list of projects from him and Williams. Rell reneged on a similar bonding deal in 2005, Amann said.
“Why would I give her another list of priorities?” he asked.
It is unclear whether any projects in southwestern Connecticut will survive the debate.
“It’s way too early to say,” Williams said.
Bond negotiations are complicated by a debate between Amann and Rell over increased investment in bridge inspections and repairs after the collapse in Minneapolis.
This is the problem with having a reactive government. Because a bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, politicians now think its dandy to put money towards infrastructure. If Rell had spent more time cleaning house over at the DOT earlier, maybe the DOT wouldn’t have boondoggled through the tens of millions it did with incompetent sub contractors and maybe there would be funds put to ongoing maintenance as part of normal business. Instead we get a band aid, still the same old clueless management at the DOT and more political bickering.
source: Advocate, Rell, Dems far apart on bonding package, By Brian Lockhart, August 15 2007
