Rell outlines plans to reduce deficit

Rell outlines plans to reduce deficit: "“In many ways, this is the most difficult cut I must propose,” Ms. Rell said. “I have labored to maintain this aid at the same level as the prior year. The simple fact, however, is that the pressure on the state budget is too great. We cannot spend what we do not have.”
To offset the effects of this cut, the governor is forming a panel of lawmakers and six municipal leaders - mayors or first selectmen from two large cities, two mid-size communities and two rural towns - to make proposals for immediate mandate relief. Governor Rell has previously proposed steps such as a temporary suspension of binding arbitration and requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature before any further mandates are imposed.
The panel is to make its recommendations as soon as possible so the Legislature can take swift action to enact them into law and maximize the savings to cities and towns."