By Keith M. Phaneuf and Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
Connecticut’s small towns today pressed the General Assembly to take the governor’s proposal to shift a third of teacher pension costs onto communities “off the table” in state budget deliberations — but administration officials held firm on their plan.
And while some legislators already have said — privately or publicly — that the controversial plan effectively is dead, the Connecticut Council of Small Towns said the looming threat alone has paralyzed local budget preparations.
COST also raised a new legal argument that could force Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to choose between his public description of the pension billing plan, and his legal definition.
In other words, either stop describing it as a “spending cut” and admit it is a new $400 million annual fee imposed on cities and towns, or risk a legal battle.
