HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut lawmakers and Gov. Jodi Rell met Tuesday for the third day in a row, behind closed doors at the governor's residence, attempting to reach a budget agreement before the fiscal year ends at midnight.

If there's no deal, Rell said she has an executive order to continue running the state government for a month, choosing which essential state services to fund.

If the governor or lawmakers cut funding to cities and towns, local officials said it could force them to slash services and make layoffs.

"We did our job," West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka said. "We had to do the union negotiations. We had to do the layoffs."

They said they have received some assurance that education money will be flat-funded but that there are no guarantees.

Another concern, they said, is about new construction projects.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano said his city is building six schools. He said he's afraid that if the governor signs the executive order and doesn't fund grant money for new projects it will halt construction.