WYMAN SAYS WEAKENING ECONOMY IS SHRINKING BUDGET SURPLUS
Seal of the  State of Connecticut, Office of the State Comptroller

STATE OF CONNECTICUT

NANCY WYMAN
COMPTROLLER

OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER
55 ELM STREET
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775

MARK OJAKIAN
DEPUTY COMPTROLLER
WYMAN ISSUES FINAL 2001 SURPLUS OF $30.6 MILLION
Comptroller Projects Declining Revenues Will Produce Smaller Surplus in 2002
Contact: Steve Jensen
860-702-3308

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman today announced that the state ended the 2001 fiscal year with a net budget surplus of $30.6 million, and projected that declining tax revenues will produce an even smaller surplus in the current fiscal year.

The $30.6 million is the remainder of a gross surplus of $606.8 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30. The General Assembly appropriated $576.2 million of the gross surplus for various programs, and the remaining $30.6 million will automatically be deposited into the state's emergency Rainy Day Fund.

Wyman's current surplus projection for the end of the 2002 fiscal year stands at $150,000 - the amount built into the current state budget approved by the legislature.

Wyman said her projection of a shrinking surplus for 2002 is due to a "growth recession" in the state's economy that produced a sharp drop in tax revenues in the second half of fiscal 2001 and may continue through the current fiscal year. (See attached summary).

"Tax revenues are down dramatically, mainly due to very weak growth in jobs and sluggish consumer spending," Wyman said. "But even if this growth recession continues, it appears the state should end the 2002 fiscal year with a small surplus or at least a balanced budget."

Wyman has long advocated that any surplus be used to pay off the state's enormous $10.3 billion bonded debt and to increase the Rainy Day Fund. But she noted that only the statutory minimum deposit was made to the Rainy Day Fund from the 2001 surplus, and that none of the surplus was used to pay off any of the debt.

Meanwhile, the state's bonded debt climbed by $527 million in fiscal 2001, she said.

Comptroller's Economic Summary for Fiscal Year 2001

Employment

Income Tax Revenue

Sales Tax Revenue/Consumer Spending

Corporate Profits

Housing & Construction

The State Comptroller appreciates input on this and other issues from residents of the state. Please feel free to contact her office by phone - (860) 702-3300; mail - OSC, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106; or, via E-mail - osc.opinions@po.state.ct.us

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For Immediate Release
September 4, 2001

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