Nearly 60% of CT cities and towns increased property taxes this year, with most of those tax hikes outpacing the rate of inflation.
Connecticut Conference of Municipalities
Posted inMoney
State bonding gridlock stalls summer repaving funds
Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic legislative leaders repeatedly trumpeted their adoption of a new state budget “on time” in June, noting it gave cities and towns certainty about the grants they could expect. But for the second time in three years, Connecticut cities and towns haven’t received state funding crucial for scheduled summer road repaving work.
Posted inMoney
Municipalities say pension costs could skyrocket
Connecticut cities and towns will face millions of dollars in added costs next fiscal year because of state-mandated changes in how municipalities must save for their workers’ pensions.
Posted inMoney
Wall Street firm says federal tax limits could hurt CT towns
A major Wall Street credit rating agency warned Wednesday that federal tax changes could undermine Connecticut cities and towns’ property tax receipts.
Posted inMoney
Despite snowstorms, town road grants remained stalled
After facing Connecticut’s third nor’easter in less than two weeks, municipalities are reminding state officials that strained local snow removal budgets badly need overdue state aid. But the prospects for immediate release of the stalled $30 million in Town Aid Road grants seem dim.
Posted inMoney
CCM backs plan to revitalize CT — despite risk to local aid
Despite a proposal that could jeopardize state aid in the coming years, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities has endorsed the full report of the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth, arguing it offers more long-term benefits for the state and its communities.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Town leaders: Further reform needed for pensions, school funding
Municipal leaders urged a state study panel Tuesday to support further restrictions on public-sector pensions, ending collective bargaining for retirement benefits and aggressively redistributing education aid from communities losing students to those gaining them.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Joe DeLong on pensions: ‘The reality is this is burying the state’
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities asked Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last week to set aside his demand that municipalities begin contributing this year to the cost of teacher pensions, a fast-growing liability that is now wholly the responsibility of the state. Instead, CCM proposed a study that prompted eye-rolling by the governor. Our Sunday conversation is with Joe DeLong, the former West Virginian legislative leader who took over as executive director of CCM in 2015, about his dire views on public pensions.
Posted inCities & Towns, Money, Politics
Town leaders fight back against budget cost shifts
Municipal leaders pushed back Wednesday against Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposals to shift costs onto cities and towns.
Posted inMoney
With municipal aid on chopping block, a cordial chat
Evidently resigned to a shrinking pool of state aid, leaders of two municipal associations pressed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Friday about granting Connecticut’s cities and town flexibility in dealing with public employees to achieve off-setting efficiencies, long a politically fraught topic at the State Capitol.
Posted inMoney
Municipal lobby deserts House Dems on sales tax plan
One of the leading municipal advocates says the House Democrats’ plan to boost the sales tax to aid cities and towns is flawed — and would be opposed by most mayors and first selectmen.
Posted inMoney
Many towns begin cutbacks in anticipation of lean CT budget
Nearly half of Connecticut cities and towns participating in a recent survey have frozen spending or cut services in response to state budget gridlock and the associated threat of reduced municipal aid, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities reported Monday.
Posted inMoney
Cities, towns ask state leaders in TV ad, ‘Are you listening?’
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities is pressing state officials to deliver a budget that protects cities and towns, unveiling a television commercial Monday that suggests the legislature’s inaction could cost people their homes.
Posted inMoney
CCM again pushes its sweeping plan as budget talks intensify
As state budget negotiations intensify, the organization that represents Connecticut’s cities and towns is doubling down on a sweeping financial plan unveiled earlier this year.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Towns ask why CT officials won’t touch teachers’ pensions
Connecticut towns are asking why state officials are not reducing retirement benefits nor deferring another income tax cut for retired teachers, given the state’s huge budget crisis.
