Bond Funding Still in Question

Did they or didn't they?

In its last meeting under Gov. M. Jodi Rell's auspices, the state Bond Commission was set to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in bonding Friday to fund initiatives throughout the state, including millions that would flow to projects east of the Connecticut River. But confusion over who cast a vote for what and two high-profile absences have thrown the legality of the votes taken at the meeting in Hartford into question.

As of Monday, it remained unclear if several items on the agenda had received the mandatory six votes required for approval.

The 10-member bond commission – made up of the governor, attorney general, treasurer, comptroller, the head of two state agencies and four state legislators – approves funding requests submitted by Rell that have been previously approved by the General Assembly. Rell, a Republican who will leave office in early January, serves as chairwoman of the Bond Commission and dictates when items are placed on the agenda and funded. 

Typically, when Rell places an item on the agenda, its approval is fairly certain, but such was not the case Friday. The absence of Richard Blumenthal, the state's out-going attorney general, and Nancy Wyman, currently the state's Comptroller and future lientenant governor, for what appear to be political reasons, further complicated matters.

Adam Liegeot, a spokesman for Rell's office, said Monday that items on the bond commission's agenda require six votes to pass, but that it was unclear whether a number of items received the necessary votes. The reason being is each item was tabulated by a voice vote and there was some confusion on several votes as to who was voting for what. 

Liegeot said that the governor is considering calling a new meeting of the commission, but that any such meeting would have to be publicly advertized before it could be held.

"It's still up in the air," Liegeot said of the situation late Monday afternoon.

Rell said the projects on the commission's agenda are "critical" and "vital" to maintaining the state's infrastructure and boosting its economic output. The governor continues to support the proposals even though the legislature approved the spending requests years earlier and the projects have been in a state of limbo awaiting bond commission consideration ever since.

Rell's decision to commit to spending hundreds of millions of dollars with less than a month remaining in her term, and the state facing a projected $3.5 billion budget deficit in the coming fiscal year has drawn plenty of criticism, including from her replacement.

"The Governor decides which projects end up on the Bond Commission agenda," Gov.-elect Dan Malloy, a Democrat, said in an email Thursday before the meeting. "While I might approach the funding of these projects in a different manner – I've been clear that everyone must make a shared sacrifice to get our state's fiscal house in order – the fact is that Connecticut has only one Governor at a time."

Blumenthal, who leaves the office in January when he is sworn in as the state's newest U.S. Senator, released a statement explaining his absence.

"I thought that it was inappropriate for me to vote on major bonding decisions just a few weeks before my leaving office and a newly elected administration assuming responsibility for huge state budget challenges,'' Blumenthal said in a statement.

Wyman could not be reached for comment Monday, but told reporters on Friday that she disagreed with the bonding.

Vincent Candelora, a Republican state representative from North Branford who sits on the bond commission as the ranking minority member of the House's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, said he voted against every item on the agenda because he does not think the state can currently afford to spend any more money.

"We're using bond funds to operate government right now," Candelora said. "I'm just concerned with the way our cash flow is structured. We're broke. And we shouldn't be bonding any more money."

Projects on the commission's agenda that could receive funding in this area include:

-      A $600,000 state grant to the town of East Windsor to rebuild the entrance to the East Windsor Industrial Park near Bradley International Airport.

-      A $3-million loan to Alstom Power Inc. to lease two new sites in Windsor, which Rell's office said would help keep 1,000 engineering jobs in Connecticut.

-      A $150,000 state grant to the Friends of Valley Falls Park in Vernon to renovate and convert historic farm buildings to recreational use at Valley Falls Park.

-      A $900,000 state grant to the town of East Hartford for the construction of a new senior center.

-      And nearly $14.5 million in funding for the Local Bridge Program, which covers about a third of municipalities costs for local bridge renovation projects. Manchester, South Windsor and Vernon all had projects designated to receive funding on the list.