New Milford state Representative Bill Buckbee says the budget signed by Governor Malloy this week retains several of the structural changes he believes are sorely needed.  That includes a state spending cap and a state bonding cap and that all union contracts receive legislative support before the state enters into the labor agreements. 

While there is less than 1% increase of new fees and tax revenues in this budget, Buckbee wants to push for reforms that do not rely on additional tax revenues to balance future state budgets.

Ridgefield State Representative John Frey says when he considers where budget talks started at the beginning of the year and then where they ended up, the compromise budget represents the best possible deal for Ridgefield. 

Frey says the budget contained certain elements that he wasn’t comfortable with and doesn’t address Connecticut’s unfunded pension liabilities, but there is time for that substantial work to be done.  He notes that if Governor Malloy's proposal to have municipalities contribute towards teacher pension liabilities, it would have cost Ridgefield $4 million.