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Retiring U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Stamford, just held a phone conference with Connecticut journalists to discuss Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Irene.

I asked Lieberman to weigh in on the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, also of Stamford, today on CNN took issue with the suggestion by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a Tea Party favorite and Republican presidential candidate from Texas, that FEMA should not have a role in disaster response.

Malloy called Paul an idiot.

Lieberman – who won re-election in 2006 as a self-described “independent Democrat” with signficant Republican support – is chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. He made it clear although he’s been tough on FEMA in the past that he disagrees with Paul.

“This is taking an ideology to really an illogical and self-destructive extreme. It’s like cutting off your nose to despite your face,” Lieberman said. “If FEMA didn’t exist we would need to create it.  Experience has shown us state and local governments need assistance, the public needs assistance. We’re in the end one big American family and it’s the strength of the country that can help people who are the targets of disasters (or) terrorism.”

“If FEMA wasn’t performing that’s a different question. They’ve performed disastrously in (Hurricane) Katrina. But I think they really got their act together now,” Lieberman said.  ”I know we’re in a time of anti-federal government feeling in the country and believe me I understand why. But if there’s one thing I would guess that an overwhelming majority of the American people want the federal government to do is help them when a natural disaster strikes them, their neighbors.”

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Just got off the phone with Tom Swan, head of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group.

We spoke a bit about the state of public sector unions in Connecticut post-ratification revote for a Labor Day piece I’m writing.

Swan said he hopes citizens appreciate the effort of municipal and state workers to prepare for and get things cleaned-up in the aftermath of Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Irene.

“I think moments like we’ve just experienced from Irene remind us all of the importance of a strong and vibrant public sector for those times we all need to pull together in the broader community,” Swan said. “I think most felt whether cleaning up the roads or helping to move debris, shelters opening up in schools, for the most part the public sector responded in a swift and effective manner.”

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With Hurricane Irene bearing down on Connecticut and public safety officials scrambling to prepare, there will be a few folks lamenting Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s decision this week to layoff state troopers.

The union representing state cops has been trying to thwart the cuts, arguing they defy a state law mandating a minimum staffing level of 1,248.

Senate Bill 331 as initially proposed mandated 1,150 troopers. The final version called for 1,248 and was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives and the Senate in 1998. You can read the details here.

Three current legislative leaders were among the nearly three-dozen co-sponsors: Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden.

The three have been silent on the trooper layoffs. I sought their comments today.

Williams’ spokesman, Derek Slap, sent me the following on behalf of Williams and said Looney concurred: “It’s no secret that we had to make billions of dollars in spending cuts to close the budget deficit. That said, it’s imperative that public safety is not compromised. I’m confident that the Malloy Administration takes this seriously and can adequately protect public safety with the resources it has.”

This is hardly the first time the state has dipped below the minimum. Malloy’s predecessor, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, was similarly criticized by the police union for staffing shortages.

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A few weeks ago we, through the Freedom of Information Act, obtained dozens of emails from Gov. Dannel Malloy’s administration sent in late June, the week state employee unions voted down a $1.6 billion concessions package.

The idea was to gain a bit of insight into what the administration was talking about behind-the-scenes when the deal – approved last week in a re-vote – was shot down, leaving a gaping hole in Malloy’s budget. What we got back was pretty bland, unenlightening stuff, with what I can only assume were the few potentially interesting back-and-forths withheld for various reasons (attorney-client privilege, for example).

But today’s report about a life insurance scheme pursued by Texas Governor/Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Perry brought to mind one quirky exchange between Malloy’s advisors and a Georgia man offering what he called a solution to Connecticut’s budget woes.

In late January Matt Lieberman, head of Georgia-based Compass Benefits, Inc., e-mailed Roy Occhiogrosso about a patented program called “The Unique Solution” which Lieberman viewed as a way for the new governor to balance the budget without major cuts to current employee benefits.

Malloy had been sworn in a few weeks earlier for his first term, inheriting a $3 billion-plus-change budget deficit he would soon propose closing with union concessions, tax hikes and budget cuts.

Here’s how Lieberman described “The Unique Solution”: ”In essence, the state employees are given a new group life plan which can be added to or replace the current group life plan. As with any group life plan, if an employee dies while employed by the state, his or her beneficiaries receive the full death benefit. Also like all group life plans, once the employee leaves the state’s employ, the insurance for the beneficiaries ends. Virtually no employees keep their group life insurance in effect once they leave a workplace as the cost becomes prohibitive. The key difference with ’The Unique Solution’ is that at the point the employee is no longer employed by the state, the policy vests with the pension fund/trust. This means that approximately 85 percent of the insurance will benefit the pension – over $17 billion. That represents a huge actuarially reliable flow of funds over time … In the case of Connecticut, this means an asset of $10,436,588,000 going on the pension’s books immediately. This pre-funding, in turn, creates a net savings on the state’s annually required pension contribution of $484,376,270 … In a nutshell: $17 billion in reliable long term funding and $484 million dollars in annual net savings.”

Lieberman tried the pitch again in late June, writing Occhiogrosso, “I’m sorry the ($1.6 billion concessions) deal failed. The consequences seem rough all around. Not a happy time, I’m sure. I know you’re not the expert on the deep policy side of the pension issue. But you are the political guy, and I want to hold out our approach once more as a political tool to bridge the gap with the unions/achieve the budget savings/clean up the accumulated red ink.”

Occhiogrosso forwarded Lieberman’s June email to Ben Barnes, Malloy’s budget czar, who quickly shot it down.

“No. It’s a gimmick. Imagine the reaction if we went out and bought life insurance on our employees,” Barnes wrote Occhiogrosso.

And Occhiogrosso got back to Lieberman.

“Thanks for being back in touch,” he wrote. “Spoke with Ben. Despite the rejection of the agreement we still plan on going forward with a budget free of the sort of proposal you’ve put forward. While interesting, we still view it as something that could be too easily received and painted as a ‘gimmick’, for lack of a better word. Let’s stay in touch.”

“You bet,” Lieberman wrote back. “I appreciate your putting the ” around the word gimmick I like to think the Big Four Accounting validation pulls us out of that category, but fully appreciate and agree that it is not the traditional head-on approach.”

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Republican leaders have so far not displayed much enthusiasm for Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy’s deal, announced Tuesday, to essentially pay financial titan UBS $20 million in taxpayer dollars to maintain a mimimum of 2,000 employees in Connecticut for the next five years.

That doesn’t sound bad until you consider the company currently claims it has 3,500 workers statewide and its lease for its Stamford campus expires in five years. You can read our full report on the announcement here.

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, told ex-Republican governor-turned-radio host John Rowland, “My gut reaction is the governor panicked here.”

“Look, the reality is there’s going to be occasions where we have to do things like this … But when it’s the focus of your economic development, you leave yourself open to five other companies, ten other companies, twenty other companies saying, ‘Why not us?’,” McKinney told Rowland. He also said plenty of questions about the arrangement remain. You can listen to their full interview here.

And House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, one of the first to publicly acknowledge rumors of UBS’ possible departure for New York City, told The Wall Street Journal, “It’s a sad state of affairs when we make a big announcement about a company just deciding to stay here … It’s good news that they’re staying but throwing one-time shots of money isn’t a good long-term economic policy’.”

And then there’s state Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, who represents part of Stamford and was invited to attend Tuesday’s press conference. Frantz was there from beginning to end. He listened to the pitch delivered by Malloy and UBS. He listened to their sometimes unsatisfying responses to reporters’ inquiries.

“If it was a different company and a different set of circumstances I would like to see a lot more detail. But the fact it’s UBS, flagship financial services company with the state of Connecticut – I think there’s so much value in keeping them here I tend not to second guess the good work of the Department of Economic and Community Development and the governor’s judgment on this one,” Frantz said. “It’s playing good defense. To get 2,000 jobs back into the state of Connecticut in the first place requires an extraordinary amount of work, time and resources. It’s a lot cheaper to play defense and a lot smarter when you’re talking a flagship company like UBS.”

Frantz hadn’t heard McKinney’s radio interview, so I asked him to give it a listen.

Frantz said it is “probably true” Malloy, Stamford’s former mayor, ”panicked” when it appeared UBS was on its way out.

“But it also means he’s doing his job by being completely sensitive to what could happen to Stamford, what could happen to the employment base at UBS,” Frantz said.

Frantz said that, like McKinney, he also believes the state needs to be cognisant of how other, particularly smaller, businesses view such deals.

“But once again I think Connecticut has to play defense here before it can be successful recruiting companies to come to Connecticut,” Frantz said.

Frantz said at the end of the day retention packages would not have to be brokered if state lawmakers “create the best private sector business environment in the Northeast, if not the entire country.”

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The Hartford Courant is reporting that Connecticut’s state troopers have again rejected the $1.6 billion concessions the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition negotiated this spring with Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy.

Although the rejection does not prevent ratification of the deal by the majority of unionized state workers, it does mean the troopers forgo Malloy’s promised four years of job security.

State cops endorsed Malloy when he was running for governor in 2010, but the concessions vote has strained that relationship.

When state workers rejected the givebacks in June, we were the first to report that the troopers wanted to engage in separate talks with Malloy independent SEBAC.

With the re-vote in the works, Colleen Flanagan, a Malloy spokesman, on August 11 issued a statement attempting to fight off rumors of a special deal just with the state troopers…

Reporters/Editors –

 Please find below an email from Office of Policy and Management Deputy Secretary Mark Ojakian to Robert Krzys (General Counsel to some unions; Union Chair of Healthcare Cost Containment Committee) regarding the rumor about the special deal that the Administration supposedly entered into with the State Police Union. This is obviously not true. This email was sent yesterday. Please let me know if you have any questions.

 –Colleen

According to The Courant, the troopers will rally Monday to, among other things, complain about understaffing. State statutes call for a minimum of 1248 cops and we’ve apparently got less than that.

Here’s a more detailed analysis of the situation, presented to legislators during last winter’s  budget hearings by the state police union president:

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CONNECTICUT STATE POLICE UNION

 OPPOSITION of: PROPOSED BILL NO. HB6388 AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE GOVERNOR’S BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS

The Connecticut State Police Union membership respectfully opposes the proposed amendment to Connecticut General Statute 29-4, section 16, which requests an increase of (5) five additional Major positions within the State Police.During these difficult financial times when the Governor is demanding two billion dollars in “Savings and Concessions”, creating additional managerial positions is unnecessary and not cost effective. Connecticut General Statute 29-4 currently mandates that “the Commissioner of Public Safety shall appoint and maintain a minimum of one thousand two hundred forty-eight [1248] sworn state police personnel to efficiently maintain the operation of the division.” However, this mandate has not been met since February of 2008. Currently, the State Police has approximately 1129 sworn Troopers holding the ranks of Trooper, Trooper First Class, Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel and Commissioner. This is 119 Troopers short of the statutory mandate and is expected to grow in the near future due to a number of Troopers who recently applied to retire. Currently, a Connecticut State Police Major earns an annual salary of approximately$110,000. Increasing the Department of Public Safety’s budget by approximately $550,000 seems excessive and fiscally irresponsible. A Trooper in his/her first year of service earns only a salary of $48,791. As a result of promoting more managers and failing to replace those Troopers who have retired, there will be an increase in the need for overtime to provide public safety. Moreover, it may affect morale within the ranks. As crime increases, the State of Connecticut deserves more front line Troopers servicing and protecting the public. There is no need for an increase in managers with fewer subordinates to supervise. Everyone should be forced to share in the sacrifice and do more with less, not just the front line Troopers providing the vital services to the visitors and residents of Connecticut. As our state is experiencing a 3.6 billion dollar budget shortfall, and the budget calls for cutting positions within the State Police Truck Squad, the entire School Resource Officer program, and several of our Troopers assigned to Bradley Airport, we should not create additional waste. Our limited budget should be spent providing the services that will make public safety a priority. We respectfully request this Committee to prevent this legislation. We thank the committee for your consideration on this important issue.

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As reported this week by the Waterbury-Republican American, Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy has chosen his candidate for one of the most powerful, yet below-the-radar, positions in state government.

As Claims Commissioner, J. Paul Vance Jr. is now the man who will determine whether to allow certain lawsuits against Connecticut to move forward.

And he inherits from his retired predecessor, James Smith, whose name has yet to be removed from the agency’s website, perhaps the most high-profile and sensational case to pass through that office.

Vance Jr. will determine whether or not Charla Nash, mauled by a chimp attack in Stamford in May, 2009, can sue the state Department of Environmental Protection (now the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) for damages.

The case remains in the discovery period before the Claims Commissioner.

Nash’s attorney, Charles Willinger of Bridgeport, tonight said he knew Smith had retired in June and is not concerned about Vance’s ability to pick up where his predecessor left off.

“I do believe he’ll be able to read the file and get up to speed in a very short time,” Willinger said. “I don’t think at all that part is going to be prejudicing our case.”

But Willinger said he is concerned with Vance Jr’s following description of his understanding of his duties to the Waterbury-Republican American:  ”I’ve always been a litigator, primarily defense, so this is the perfect fit for me.”

“It’s very disconcerting,” Willinger said. “The Claims Commissioner has been described by the Connecticut Supreme Court as ‘the conscience of the state’. What he is supposed to be doing is not defending the state against claims, but if a claim is just and equitable, he is to permit the state to be sued.”

Willinger continued, “In this case we feel very strongly that the DEP’s actions and, more importantly, inaction are actionable … It would be an awful injustice in this case to deny Charla Nash the right to sue.”

Vance could not immediately be reached for comment. I’ll post his response when we get in touch.

UPDATE:

Talked to Vance a few minutes ago and told him about Willinger’s concerns.

“I didn’t even get to warm up the chair yet,” Vance joked.

He said his quote should not be misinterpreted and he understands he is not the state’s defense attorney.

“I’ve been a lawyer on both sides, representing claimants and defendants,” he said. “I understand the role. It’s my job to be fair.”

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Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy when mayor of Stamford often complained his city did not receive it’s fair share of state education aid.

It’s a frequent complaint of Fairfield County lawmakers, who argue the current Education Cost Sharing formula unfairly penalizes them for their wealth without taking other issues into consideration.

Now – as promised earlier this year - the Malloy administration is moving forward with a study of ECS, today announcing the formation of a special task force to take up the matter.

However, the group’s deadlines have been pushed back, with a draft report due in January and a final report due in October 2012.

Malloy in his February budget address had previously said he’d convene a task force at the end of the 2010-11 school year, hoping to have its report in hand by this coming October in order to craft legislation for the 2012 session of the General Assembly.

“We also need to recognize that the ECS formula needs to be overhauled. It’s broken, and we all know it,” Malloy said in his February speech. “To that end, I will soon be reaching out to legislative leadership and relevant stakeholders to form a committee to recommend smart steps we can take to overhaul the way we fund local schools. I’ll ask this committee to begin convening at the end of the school year, and to report back to me on October first. And then I’ll seek to take that report and turn it into legislation in the next session. We need to fix this formula once and for all, and we will.”

To be fair, co-chairman Ben Barnes – who is Malloy’s budget chief – has had a lot on his plate, what with the state unions having rejected a $1.6 billion concessions deal in June and Malloy ordering massive cuts and layoffs as a result.

Here’s the full press release Malloy issued today:

———-

GOV. MALLOY ANNOUNCES MEMBERS OF ECS TASK FORCE

Group will study effectiveness of ECS, submit initial recommendations before start of next legislative session

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced the members of a newly-formed task force that will review the effectiveness of the state’s Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant and how it relates to state constitutional requirements.  The group, whose membership was appointed by Governor Malloy and legislative leaders, will develop recommendations on possible ways to change how money is divided up by school district.

“It is our responsibility to routinely review the distribution of education grants to municipalities to ensure that communities are receiving a fair share of dollars under grant distribution rules, especially in light of constitutional requirements.  Unfortunately, it has been quite a while since the state last had a thorough review of this system,” Governor Malloy said.  “We must ensure this formula focuses on improving educational outcomes for all of our students, regardless in which city or town they live.”

The Governor continued, “As I’ve said before, much more needs to be done to improve the education our children are receiving in this state, and I intend on focusing the 2012 legislative session on education issues, concerns and ways in which we can better prepare our students for a global economy.”

In addition to focusing on the ECS formula, the group will also consider state grants to interdistrict magnet schools and regional agricultural science and technology centers as well as special education costs for the state and municipalities.  Under state statute, the group is required to submit an initial report on its findings and recommendations by January 2, 2012 and its final report by October 1, 2012.

Membership of the Task Force to Study State Funding for Education in the Context of State Constitutional Requirements:

• Governor’s selection: Benjamin Barnes (Co-Chair) – Secretary, Office of Policy and Management
• Governor’s selection: Dudley Williams – Director of District Education Strategy, GE Asset Management, former Assistant to the Commissioner, Department of Education
• Governor’s selection: Portia Bonner, Ph.D. – Educational Consultant, Wolcott Public Schools, former Superintendent of Schools, City of New Bedford, Massachusetts
• Governor’s selection: Theodore Sergi, Ph.D. – Former Commissioner, Department of Education
• Governor’s selection: Dr. Elsa Núñez – President, Eastern Connecticut State University
• Governor’s selection: Len Miller – Certified Public Accountant, Co-founder of the Fairfield County Collaborative Alliance, Treasurer of Kids in Crisis, former Chair of Stamford Achieves
• President Pro Tempore’s selection: Senator Andrea Stillman (Co-Chair) – Co-Chair, Education Committee
• Senate Majority Leader’s selection: Senator Toni Harp – Co-Chair, Appropriations Committee
• House Speaker’s selection: Mark Benigni – Superintendent of Schools, City of Meriden
• House Majority Leader’s selection: Mary Loftus-Levine – Executive Director, Connecticut Education Association
• Senate Minority Leader’s selection: William Davenport – Agriscience teacher, Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, Director of the Ellis Clark Regional Agriscience & Technology Program
• House Minority Leader’s selection: Representative Michael Molgano – Member, Education and Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committees