Dot the ‘I’s, cross the ‘T’s, and move on

Given that it’s been 118 days the state of Connecticut has had no budget blueprint to guide its path forward, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy should take all the time necessary to thoroughly review the 900-page document legislators have approved.

Though the governor in some ways has diminished his relevance in Hartford with the declaration last April that he would not seek reelection, he is still The Man when it comes to signing off on the budget.

Though he could veto the proposal, the counts by which it passed — 33 to 3 in the senate; 126-23 in the house — suggest a veto would be easily overturned.

Nevertheless, he should stick to the guns he’s been firing in support of structural change to, say, the state’s pension system and other reforms.

In a very early assessment of the 900-page document, the governor’s office claims to already have found issues

“This morning, the administration identified a significant problem in regard to the hospital tax. The language as drafted would make federal reimbursement impossible. We notified legislative leaders about the error and strongly urged them to correct it before final passage,” said the governor’s spokesperson, Kelly Donnelly.

While the governor should be insistent on some points, he, too has to realize that this new budget is a bipartisan product, and where he can compromise, he must.

Some of the talk that has come since the approvals is particularly encouraging.

The budget, for instance, provides some $40 million for financially distressed Hartford.

Though one-time bailouts are rarely a good remedy, Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano, R-North Haven, struck the right note when he said, “We’re all in it together. The strength of our state depends on the strength of our cities.”

And news reports suggest there are other laudatory actions in a budget that is a hybrid of the separate Democratic and Republican budgets that were proposed last month.

The Connecticut Council of Small Towns, for instance, praised the bipartisan effort for, among other things, not requiring the state’s municipalities to pay a share toward teachers’ pensions.

The budget would let “... Connecticut’s towns and cities provide quality education, public safety, transportation and other critical services to residents without imposing additional burdens on property taxpayers.”

It also drew praise from a quarter that has been particularly — dramatically on occasion — affected by Connecticut’s volatile economic situation: the Connecticut Business and Industry Association.

High-profile corporate departures, starting with GE’s announcement last year that it was leaving Connecticut after 42 years in the state, for the greener pastures of Boston, have given the state the reputation of a place inhospitable to business, through both taxation and the uncertainty of its financial future.

CBIA president and CEO Joe Brennan said, “Before the budget process even started earlier this year, we were clear that the budget needed to pass the following test: it must be bipartisan, avoid broad-based tax increases, and include structural reform of state government and our budgeting process. This budget meets that test.”

These are strong endorsements. They, too, need to be weighed by the governor.