Towns Take A Hit If Labor Deal Collapses

CROMWELL--After being praised Thursday for expanding municipal aid in the new state budget, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy warned local officials that he might take some of that back should labor unions reject a tentative concession package.

Addressing the annual meeting of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the governor told more than 100 mayors, first selectmen and town managers gathered at the Crowne Plaza that he is optimistic that the deal, which his administration believes would save $1.6 billion over two years, will be accepted.

"I know there's a lot of angst... about what the unions are going to do," Malloy, a former mayor of Stamford and former CCM president, told the crowd, adding that his goal since he inherited a nearly $3.7 billion projected deficit for 2011-12 was to solve the problem without further burdening municipalities.

"I will keep municipalities in mind when we restack the budget," if the concession plan fails, the governor said. "But I can't make you any guarantee at the moment."

The state's 34 bargaining units and their 15 parent unions aren't expected to finish voting on the tentative deal before June 24, according to spokesmen for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition. But Malloy cited Wednesday's report in The Connecticut Mirror that the first five bargaining units to finish balloting all endorsed the deal, calling it a positive sign.

Without the agreement the governor and the General Assembly face sizeable holes in the coming biennium.

READ MORE