STATE OF CONNECTICUT
NANCY WYMAN COMPTROLLER	OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER 55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775	MARK OJAKIAN DEPUTY COMPTROLLER

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman today projected the state will end the 2005 fiscal year with a budget surplus of $777.2 million.

A series of appropriations by the General Assembly, however, will reduce the net surplus to $157.4 million, which will be deposited into the state's Rainy Day Fund. That would bring the emergency fund's balance to $459.6 million, or about 3.3 percent of net General Fund appropriations.

"That is far short of the ten-percent level that I believe is needed to protect taxpayers against an inevitable downturn in the economy," Wyman said. "It is unfortunate that greater emphasis was not placed on saving more of the surplus for when it is really needed."

The Rainy Day Fund had reached nearly $600 million before being drained to deal with a deficit in 2002.

Included in the expenditures from the original $777.2 million surplus are:

• $546.8 million of appropriations included in the two-year budget approved in June.
• $57.1 million of savings from the 2005 budget that was transferred to the new two-year spending plan.
• $15.9 million that was reserved for payments to private providers over the next two years.

The 2005 fiscal year ended June 30, but the state continues to accrue certain revenues through August that will be included in the final surplus figure.

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

Learn more about the Connecticut Comptroller's Office by calling up our Internet Home Page, at the link below.

For Immediate Release
August 1, 2005

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