According to State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, the state surplus for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 1997 has increased by $88.8 million over last month's projection. Wyman attributed the increase to larger than anticipated revenues to the state.

"Connecticut and the Northeast are continuing to benefit from a strong national economy," Wyman said. "The strong revenue growth is enabling us to pay down some of our state's debt as well as put more money into our rainy day fund."

The General Fund surplus, which Wyman now projects to be $267.1 million, will be divided between the state's budget reserve ($100.4 million) and repayment of debt ($166.7 million).

Wyman stated that the higher-than-expected revenues are good news, but she remains cautious about how to spend that money.

The reserve fund will increase to $341.4 million from $241 million, but is still over $100 million short of the statutory target of 5% of net General Fund appropriations, or about $467 million.

Wyman also expressed concern about the state's under-funded pension fund, which is currently only at 50%. Wyman recommends bringing the pension fund to a 70% level to be consistent with recommended standards.

On the spending side, General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year were actually $261.8 million higher than budgeted, but were offset by revenues that came in at a projected increase of $528.9 million.

For Immediate Release
August 1, 1997

Back to Comptroller's Home Page
Back to Index of Comptroller's Press Releases