Budgeting for heating assistance could eat up cap space that another program needs. And even some legislators who favor using state funds to bolster the program note that doing so would create another problem.Ĭonnecticut has a spending cap, and many programs are fighting for scarce dollars beneath that limit. The Lamont administration has argued winter heating assistance primarily is a federal responsibility. Critics charged the state set maximum benefit levels too low, ensuring state money would not be tapped, even though requests for help were up more than 20% last winter compared with the 2021-22 season. Last year, when advocates asked state officials to mitigate a smaller LIHEAP shortfall, Lamont and lawmakers did dedicate $30 million - on the condition that it not be touched unless all federal money had been exhausted.Īdvocates were frustrated last June when they learned the state never spent its $30 million. The response largely has been to wait and see, though legislative leaders say they hope to add some modest state funding to energy assistance in mid-February. Add the rainy day fund into that comparison and it’s about 1/23rd of 1%. That’s less than 3% of this year’s surplus. The maximum benefit for the poorest families is projected to drop almost $1,000 this winter, from $2,320 to $1,350, while many other households are expected not to receive hundreds of dollars this winter that they might have received in previous years.Įnergy assistance advocates asked Lamont and lawmakers in August - before the winter heating season began - to bolster federal funding by 20%, which would add roughly $17 million to the program, to mitigate the financial hit to an estimated 116,000 needy households. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) grants that fund nearly all the aid provided through the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program are down significantly this winter.Ĭongress rolled funding back to pre-pandemic levels, but the Lamont administration projects demand is more than 40% greater now than it was then. Set against that is a request from nonprofit Community Action Agencies, the AARP and other winter heating assistance advocates. That is projected to capture another $478.5 million.Ĭoupled with the operating surplus, that’s almost $645 million that could be left over once the fiscal year ends next June 30.īacking that up is a $3.3 billion rainy day fund, equal to 15% of the General Fund, the largest reserve in state history. There are problems - about $285 million in cost overruns in various agencies - but the budget began with a $400 million built-in cushion, and revenues have been strong.Īnd then there’s the volatility adjustment, a savings program that doesn’t allow the legislature to consider spending a portion of quarterly income and business tax receipts. The winter heating debate often centers on a simple question: If the state could keep many families warmer this winter by sacrificing a sliver of its budget surplus, why doesn’t it?Īccording to the January update from Lamont’s budget office, the General Fund is operating $167 million, or slightly less than 1%, in the black. “If the prices keep going up, I won’t be able to stay here.” CT could keep poor families warm with a sliver of the surplus “Eventually, you’re going to have to make a decision to sell and move somewhere else - not in the state of Connecticut,” he said. But he worries that his dream of retiring in his own home will soon be over. Except for heating aid, he’s avoided other types of public assistance, including food stamps and Medicaid. “But how is it morally or fiscally responsible to pull more funding away from critical programs that take care of our neediest residents?”Ī former private-sector social worker, Browne doesn’t get the generous pension and retiree health care benefits his state-employed counterparts enjoy. Lamont continues to tout his fiscal guardrails as what’s best for all residents,” said Norma Martinez HoSang, organizing director of Connecticut For All, a statewide coalition of more than 80 faith, labor and civic organizations. “They don’t know how hard it is to make it month-to-month.” “The scary part is the people making the decisions,” he said. But Browne and many others question whether state officials understand how many are struggling.
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