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Updated: Friday, 30 Jan 2009, 7:24 PM EST
Published : Friday, 30 Jan 2009, 5:29 PM EST
Hartford (WTNH) - For the first time in 18 years, a Connecticut governor is taking over the airwaves to address the state's dismal economy.
Governor Jodi Rell is slated to give her budget address to the General Assembly next week, but with these difficult times, Rell decided to ask the major television stations for air time Monday at 6 p.m.
Sources within the Rell administration tell News Channel 8 that her televised address will attempt to change the tone away from the gloomy budget picture she and her budget director have been painting, even though today her budget director painted a grim picture of the economic outlook.
"There is reason to believe that things will get worse before they get better," said Robert Genuario, state Budget Director.
Just last week, Rell had similar language saying, "It's grim and getting grimmer."
On Monday, Rell is planning to say that government will have to get smaller, but that the state will help business at every turn to retain and create jobs.
"Making sure that we get the message our to our businesses that this will be a business friendly budget with no new taxes," said Cmsr. Joan McDonald, CT Dept. of Economic and Community Development.
Economist Don Klepper-Smith is an advisor to Governor Rell and says emphasising the loans the state is making to small business and the promise of no tax hikes sends the best message.
"This economy is very much about small business ninety to ninety-five percent of our job growth is coming from small business. And on top of that, when we talk about no new taxes, I think that creates an air of confidence moving forward," Klepper-Smith said.
Farhad Rassech is an economist at the University of Hartford.
"I think the better part of this plan is no tax increases for two years," Rassech said.
Rell will emphasize that states around us are increasing business taxes now and her plan should have positive results.
"This is an incentive for them to increase investment to expand their business, to work harder," Rassech said.
The last governor to request television time in this fashion was Lowell Weicker during the budget crisis of 1991.
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