Comptroller Sean Scanlon Projects $167.9 Million Surplus
Special Transportation Fund to end fiscal year with $240.7 million surplus
(HARTFORD, CT) – Comptroller Sean Scanlon today, in his monthly financial and economic update, projected a Fiscal Year 2024 General Fund surplus of $167.9 million and a Special Transportation Fund surplus of $240.7 million, both in general agreement with the Office of Policy and Management’s projections.
The anticipated surplus is $1.2 million higher than last month’s projection due to a decrease in expenditures across several agencies last month, yet it is still $231.8 million lower than budgeted. Revenue projections have remained steady from last month at $22.5 billion but are still expected to amount to $5.4 million less than budgeted.
“Our state and national economy continue to show signs of strength, and consumers are feeling more optimistic as a result,” said Comptroller Scanlon. “A booming stock market, low unemployment, and sturdy consumer spending are all indicators of a healthy economy. These trends, our continued surplus, and the prospect of interest rate cuts have our office feeling positive about our budget and the economy in 2024.”
In a letter to Governor Ned Lamont, Scanlon noted that the national economy entered 2024 with continued resilience amid cooling inflation. The labor market started the year strong, with the economy adding 353,000 jobs, unemployment remaining steady at 3.7%, and wage growth reaccelerating.
Based on current estimates, $478.5 million in volatile revenues from final and estimated income taxes as well as pass-through entity tax payments would be made to the Budget Reserve Fund (BRF) at fiscal year-end. After adding the projected General Fund surplus of $167.9 million, the BRF balance is anticipated to be slightly less than $4.0 billion or 18.0% of net General Fund appropriations, before statutorily required transfers, by the end of Fiscal Year 2024.
As a result of the fiscal guardrails, the state has been able fund the BRF to its statutory limit while continuing to make additional payments towards its pension plans. This has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings that would have been used for debt service payments and continues to put Connecticut in a much stronger position to weather economic headwinds as they arise.
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