By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget chief said Thursday it will be difficult but he plans to adhere to his boss’s campaign promise and craft a new two-year state budget that does not increase taxes despite deficit projections. “It’s going to be an enormous challenge, but I look forward to carrying it out,” Ben Barnes, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, told The Associated Press. He added: “We’re going to submit a budget that’s balanced. It is going to entail spending reductions below the current services level.” Barnes is in the beginning stages of crafting a budget recommendation for Malloy to present to the General Assembly in February. His comments come a day after he sent a memo to state agency heads, instructing them to “eliminate, minimize or delay those expenditures that are not absolutely critical in nature.” On Monday, new revenue estimates showed the current year, which ends on June 30, is short about $59 million in state revenue. Barnes said Thursday that much of that $59 million stems from late payments from the federal government for various Medicaid initiatives. He called the $59 million a “manageable” revenue […]
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