EDITORIAL

Nov. 4, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Congratulations and, may we add, condolences, to all those who awake this morning having been victorious Tuesday. You now undertake or continue with the responsibilities of elected office.

Congratulations are in order because, as newly elected officials, you can now play a significant role in framing public policy, interpreting regulations and meeting the challenges our local communities face. We pass along the condolences, in the spirit of a little gallows humor, because the challenges you face will be especially difficult over the next two years.

For those officials elected to various land-use commissions -- planning, zoning, wetlands and conservation -- we also pass along the wish that things pick up a bit. In most towns, land-use commission agendas have of late lacked for new items, due to little new development. A bit more work for all of you would be welcomed news for all of us.

As for those serving on councils, as selectmen and on school boards, we expect you will be busy trying to figure out how to maintain services with less cash. In preparing endorsements, Editorial Board members met with dozens of candidates and kept hearing the same thing -- it is going to be a difficult two years.

We agree.

Despite record deficit projections caused by a big drop in income tax revenues, the General Assembly this year managed to pass a two-year budget that, on paper at least, balanced without any dramatic cuts in municipal and educational aid to cities and towns. But as this newspaper repeatedly noted, the state budget was more a product of fiscal chicanery than it was fiscal accountability.

The legislature borrowed against $1.3 billion in projected revenues, but did not well define the revenue streams. It also borrowed to pay the $947 million debt left from the prior year, used all the Rainy Day Fund and utilized one-time revenues sources, including federal economic stimulus money, to pay ongoing expenses. Comptroller Nancy Wyman estimates the state budget deficit is already $624 million, just one-quarter into the new fiscal year. She points to another $400 million in assumed savings that appear to have no basis in reality.

Because of this fiscally irresponsible behavior, Moody's Investors Services recently downgraded the outlook for Connecticut's bonds from "stable" to "negative." The message sent is clear -- get serious about balancing the budget or risk a downgrade of the state's bond rating, which would make it far more expensive for Connecticut to finance its massive debt.

So where will the legislature and governor look for cuts? We suspect municipal aid will be a sure target.

Many of the local candidates we met with said the right things about cutting spending to deal with likely state revenue reductions. Candidates expressed a willingness to reach across town lines to do bulk purchasing (some already have), coordinate and consolidate such services as road plowing and repair, and reduce school administration costs by using a single superintendent for multiple districts.

Given the new fiscal realities, it is time to start moving from such concepts to actions. Duplicating services because of arbitrary municipal boundaries is an indulgence our communities can no longer afford. The jobs, the income and the tax revenues lost in the "Great Recession" will not come roaring back.

Those elected Tuesday must be willing to reinvent how local government works. By running, they signed on for that job. Good luck.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0139-39446819