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Connecticut studies job impact of incentives but not tax increases
Connecticut officials emphasize the job impact of incentives given to companies, often referencing calculations done using economic modeling software to justify the deals, but they don’t apply the same scrutiny to tax changes like the largest-in-history increase...
Ending state-employee bonuses costs taxpayers more money
The bipartisan plan passed Wednesday to balance the state budget eliminated some state employee bonuses that have been the subject of populist ire, but replaced those bonuses with raises of the same value, which will end up costing taxpayers more. Under the new rules,...
Connecticut’s higher education bureaucracy has 29 spokesmen at cost of more than $2 million
Connecticut’s higher education bureaucracy – including a flagship university and its health center, four state universities and 12 community colleges – employs 29 spokesmen known as public information officers to work with the media, among other tasks, at a cost of...
Postal Service employee arrested on corruption charges
Federal authorities arrested a Connecticut employee of the United States Postal Service Thursday on charges he set up a company to profit from construction contracts he oversaw. Robert Giulietti, 55, of Cheshire, was charged with bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and...
New Department of Housing moves forward amid budget deficit
State officials are moving toward the establishment of a Department of Housing as provided for in last-minute budget legislation passed earlier this year despite a deficit of at least $365 million and administration talking points on reducing the size of state...
State gave managers merit raises and performance bonuses without evaluations
State auditors found the Department of Administrative Services and another small agency gave merit pay or performance bonuses to managers without the proper employee evaluations on file, raising questions about the legitimacy of the performance pay program. The...
Why do we have a DEEP bookstore?
Awash in deficits, Connecticut needs to find some places to cut. Why, in the age of Amazon.com and self-publishing, does the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have a book...
New Jersey uses Connecticut contract for Sandy cleanup, avoids competitive bidding
The New Jersey Treasury Department adopted Connecticut’s disaster cleanup contract in the days following landfall of Hurricane Sandy, avoiding the standard competitive bidding process. The use of another state’s contract, sometimes called cooperative purchasing or...
Community college presidents get spending money, perks
Connecticut’s 12 community college presidents receive about $13,000 a year in perks above and beyond standard state employee benefits such as salary, health benefits and retirement plans. The additional pay has three components, “optional expenses,” $3,250; “optional...
Connecticut’s education reforms aren’t as good as Louisiana’s
The poor performance of public education has surpassed importance on a state level and is now considered by the Council of Foreign Relations a threat to national security that will leave the country unable to compete and succeed in a global economy. Despite the fact...