Malloy Defends Budget at Meriden Town Hall Meeting

Gov. Dannel Malloy knew what he was in for.

“I for one am happy that this is Lincoln’s Theater and not Ford’s Theater,” said Malloy as he took the podium in front of a packed auditorium at Lincoln Middle School in Meriden Tuesday night for a town hall meeting to discuss his controversial 2011-13 budget proposal.

The line of people waiting to address the Governor snaked through the room. It was filled with more than 50 area residents and members of advocacy groups, most of whom were upset with some portion of Malloy’s aggressive plan to fill a $3.3 billion budget deficit with tax hikes and dramatic government restructuring.

Malloy seemed understanding but remained firm as he responded to speakers who talked about everything from ending the Afghan war to taxing the wealthy. He made it clear that he inherited the state’s fiscal issues from former Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration, and said that rather than continue to operate with a system that would push off debt to the future by taking loans – or “kicking the can down the road” – he devised a plan to address it this year.

“We want to strike the right balance,” Malloy said of his multi-pronged approach to filling the gap in the budget. If his plan is approved by the state legislature in May, the administration would reduce the number of state agencies from 81 to 57, obtain $1 billion from state employees in concessions, cut spending by approximately $800 million, and net about $1.5 billion from increased sales and income taxes this year.

“There’s not $3.3 billion to cut, nor can we raise taxes $3.3 billion,” Malloy said, describing why his plan involves so many areas.

As he has done for host cities in other town hall meetings throughout the state, Malloy presented the impact of increased taxes on Meriden residents. The median income in the city is $54,804. With the proposed income tax increase, a household making $54,804 would pay an additional $500 per year to the state, he said. The same household would spend $48 more in sales taxes each year.

Malloy added that additional state funding also helped out Meriden residents for the 2011-12 fiscal year by providing $15.3 million in education funding, known as ECS dollars, whose federal source dried up this year. Without the money, Meriden would have experienced a large-scale layoff of teachers or a substantial increase in property taxes, he said.

Wilcox Technical High School students were the first to comment on the governor’s plan – which includes proposed legislation to put state-run technical schools under local school board control. This would mean Wilcox, located just a block from the event in Meriden, would fall under the Meriden Board of Education’s jurisdiction.

“When the town of Meriden is having so much trouble as it is funding two functioning high schools, how are they going to respond to a third one?” asked Anthony Tarantino, one of the many students who spoke against changes in the school’s administration.

Malloy told the audience that Wilcox was fortunate to be a very good school, but that some of the state’s other tech high schools were failing, and would be better served by being administered locally.

Many supporters of SustiNet, Connecticut’s proposed state-run health plan, were also in line. State legislators approved the plan in 2009, and though it was vetoed by Rell, became law in an override vote. A bill to implement the program is currently circulating through the legislative committees. Malloy has been publicly interested in the aims of the program, but has not confirmed that he would support it as it is currently structured.

Nancy Burton, a Meriden nurse and SustiNet supporter, talked about a patient of hers named “Wanda,” who Burton said had kept secret a lump she found in her breast because she was uninsured. By the time Burton saw the woman her breast had been completely eaten by cancer, which had spread to the other breast and into the armpit.

“Governor Malloy, I’m willing to pay more taxes,” Burton said. “I’m not willing to watch my patients unnecessarily suffer and die, because that is what’s happening.”

The governor assured her that he would work toward the goal of providing insurance for the uninsured so that “there’s not going to be a Wanda in the state of Connecticut again,” but that it may not be in the form of SustiNet.

Malloy told the audience after another supporter spoke that the actual program costs were still too uncertain for him to approve.

“I am committed to your goals. I am committed to driving the costs down as low as possible. I am committed to accessing those federal dollars. I’m even committed to the state playing a role and participating, but I can’t write a blank check,” he said.

Some residents attacked Malloy’s proposed tax increases, saying that the wealthiest residents should bear the burden of these, not the middle class.

“I would ask you what you’re doing to explore a net-worth tax,” Meriden attorney Ken Krayeske said.  “Because if we just had Steven Cohen, a 55-year-old Greenwich hedge fund billionaire – with $8 billion– half of his net worth covers our state budget, we don’t have to tax somebody who makes $50,000.”

“Do you honestly think he wouldn’t move to another state?” Malloy said.

“I don’t care,” Krayeske responded, to audience applause.

Deb Lancing, a Meriden resident and member of the city’s Transit and ADA Commissions, told Malloy he should cut costs by taking away state employees’ company cars.

“I drive my own car to work,” she said.

The governor agreed, but said this perk was part of a benefit package negotiated in 1997 for some state employees, and that the package won’t expire until 2017.

The evening ended at about 8:15 p.m. as the governor and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman left without addressing the press.

Donald Logodicio of Meriden did not vote for Malloy in last November’s election, but said he has respect for him after watching the event.

“He’s got a tough job to do. He’s got a real uphill battle,” Logodicio said. “I have to give him a lot of credit for coming out and doing these.”

Correction: In the article, "" published March 16, we originally said Governor Jodi Rell vetoed SustiNet last fall. Rell actually vetoed the state-run insurance plan in 2009. This has been corrected, and the bill's current status has been updated.

Editor's Note: Everyone makes mistakes... even us! If there's something in this article that you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, send Local Editor Laurie Rich Salerno an e-mail at laurie.salerno@patch.com.