While Connecticut’s distressed cities often are perceived as having bloated budgets, the wealthy suburbs easily outspend their urban neighbors on a per capita basis, sometimes by margins nearing two-to-one. More importantly, shrinking state aid, a lack of revenue diversity and an over-reliance on a regressive property tax system threaten to widen tremendous disparities that already exist between Connecticut’s poorest and richest communities. Second in a series.
Cities & Towns
Connecticut has 169 cities and towns. Keep up with their neighborhoods, their municipal governments and regionalization efforts here.
Posted inMoney
Already deep in debt, Connecticut struggles with extremes of wealth and income
The growing gap between Connecticut’s richest and poorest citizens, which already outstrips that in most other states, has widened dramatically since the last recession. While only the most affluent households improved their standing, the rest lost ground. How to address this inequality and a crushing state debt at the same time will be at the core of Connecticut’s political debate for years to come. First in a series.
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Legislature overwhelmingly enacts bipartisan CT budget
The legislature overwhelmingly approved a new state budget shortly before their midnight deadline Wednesday that restores aid for towns; reverses health care cuts for the elderly, poor and disabled; and defers a transportation crisis — at least for another year.
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Competing CT budget plans rely on April tax bonanza
Democratic and Republican legislators offered competing visions for the next state budget Friday, but both effectively dipped into this spring’s unexpectedly high income-tax revenues to salvage key programs for towns and social services, drawing a sharp rebuke from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
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S&P lowers CT’s bond rating citing hefty debt
The potential for Connecticut’s hefty debt burden to remain a drain on state finances for years to come prompted one major Wall Street rating agency Friday to downgrade the state’s credit rating.
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Wall Street firm applauds CT debt aid to Hartford
A major Wall Street credit-rating agency, Moody’s Financial Services, has upgraded Hartford’s bond rating in response to a new state plan to retire the capital city’s bonded debt.
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Fiscal panel’s formula for revitalizing CT provokes Democratic resistance
Progressive Democrats in the General Assembly pushed back Friday against the state’s new fiscal stability panel, charging its recommendations shortchange key priorities, like poor cities, education and social services.
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FOI complaint seeks documents delving into fiscal stability panel’s work
Two progressive policy groups have charged the state’s fiscal stability commission with failing to disclose documents — including those tied to a nonprofit that funded key budgetary consultants for the panel. They are asking the legislature to put off acting on the panel’s recommendations until their request for the documents is resolved.
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Plan to revitalize CT runs into doubters of all persuasions
A much-anticipated report on stabilizing state finances and jump-starting Connecticut’s economy isn’t likely to get far before legislators adjourn in early May to run for re-election.
Posted inCities & Towns
A proposal that could empower state’s metros
The Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth Thursday recommended giving regional councils of government or municipal consortiums an optional taxing power that would allow a new level of regional cooperation in the state. Third of three articles.
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State tax overhaul key to plan to revitalize CT
A state panel recommended a dramatic shift in state tax burdens Thursday from wealthy income taxpayers onto businesses and consumers as part of a sweeping plan to stabilize government finances and jump-start the economy.
Posted inCities & Towns, Economic Development
Want to prosper? Act like a region, proponents say
The argument usually put forward for regionalism in Connecticut is that it can save money. And it can, but that may not be the best reason to consider metropolitan cooperation. Towns also can make money by developing their regional economies. Second of three articles.
Posted inCities & Towns
Amid fiscal perils, will the state embrace regionalism?
Facing years of projected state budget deficits, could a move toward metropolitan regions help save money and spur economic development, as advocates claim? What would a major step look like? And could any effort succeed against Connecticut’s long devotion to localism. First of three articles.
Posted inCities & Towns, Health, Justice, Politics
CT helps launch multistate effort to enhance gun controls
Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island will begin sharing databases and criminal intelligence and coordinating research related to potential firearm purchases, gun trafficking and violent crime.
Posted inCities & Towns, Energy & Environment, Housing, News
Sandy + 5; Irene + 6: Coastal resilience still elusive and expensive
More than six years after Irene, five years after Sandy, and tens of millions of dollars later, Connecticut’s shoreline communities have been slow to embrace resiliency and now look much as they did before the storms hit. But there are exceptions.