Connecticut’s cities and towns are seeking an opinion from Attorney General George Jepsen on whether communities now must take responsibility for disposition of unclaimed human remains.
Connecticut Conference of Municipalities
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
CT towns say they aren’t prepared for last-minute cut to state aid
While Connecticut municipalities decried a last-minute cut in state assistance Friday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration defended the legality of his line-item veto targeting local aid.
Posted inHealth
A Connecticut compromise on firefighters’ cancer relief
Firefighters left the State Capitol last year in a fury over the refusal of House leaders to call a vote on legislation providing them lost-wage coverage for work-related cancers. Just after midnight Wednesday, they watched a bipartisan compromise pass unanimously with the blessing of the municipalities that once thwarted them.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Bye urges colleagues, Malloy to scale back town aid cuts
The Senate chair of the General Assembly’s budget-writing panel challenged her colleagues and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Thursday to ease the municipal aid cuts they are seeking — or watch one budget be rejected after another. Sen. Beth Bye also fears many cities and towns already are making plans to increase property tax rates based on the state budgets proposed over the past week.
Posted inPolitics
Bill to allow fewer polling places in primaries back after 4 years
Connecticut’s cities and towns could see small cost savings in future election cycles if lawmakers approve a bill that would allow town registrars to reduce the number of polling places in primaries. It has substantial support, but not everyone thinks it’s a good idea.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Municipalities fear big CT deficits will nix promised state aid
In light of surging state budget deficits, municipal leaders were skeptical Tuesday that their communities would receive the hundreds of millions of dollars in state sales tax receipts owed them over the next three years. The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities also used their annual lobbying day at the Capitol to urge legislators to spare them from new mandates and to postpone and reform a new municipal spending cap.
Posted inNews
Firefighters, towns talk compromise on cancer bill
Expanded workers’ compensation benefits for firefighters with cancer, an issue derailed in the Connecticut General Assembly last year by a loud and bitter lobbying battle between municipalities and labor, seems likely to be resolved by a bipartisan-led compromise.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy: Speed DMV lines by shedding ‘collection agency’ role
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wants to help the beleaguered Department of Motor Vehicles by getting the agency out of the municipal debt collection business and by expanding transactions that can be done at private businesses like AAA offices.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Connecticut economy, the facilitator will see you now
It was inevitable. Suzanne Bates of the Yankee Institute, a conservative think tank critical of public-employee benefits, found herself at a table next to Daniel J. Livingston, the lawyer who negotiates those benefits for state employee unions. The unlikely table mates were emblematic of an experiment staged Friday to find a new approach to economic policy in Connecticut.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy seeks new storyline with budget gambit
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s challenge to legislative leaders to participate in bipartisan budget talks is less a cry for fiscal help than an effort to alter a political narrative that’s failed him in recent months, driving his approval rating to a new low.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Business, labor, town leaders summit to address CT’s economy, fiscal woes
Leading advocates for Connecticut’s businesses, workers and municipal governments will gather next month in Westbrook to tackle the challenges facing the state economy and state government finances.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Municipal groups: Cuts in aid by another name hurt just as much
A troubling new trend in state budgets, according to municipal lobbying groups, involves cuts to town grants accompanied by a promise to offset those cuts with cost-saving initiatives. But those initiatives, municipal leaders say, haven’t been delivered.
Posted inPolitics
CCM director pokes Senate leader, gets poked back
The new leader of the state’s largest municipal lobbying group told his members Thursday to expect a more aggressive stance at the General Assembly. Then he proved it with criticisms of the Senate’s majority and minority leaders that were not well received in Hartford.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Looming deficits already threaten transportation, town aid initiatives
A new, two-year state budget would make unprecedented investments in communities and transportation. But while Gov. Dannel P. Malloy insists his transportation investment will be protected by a legal lockbox, and Democratic lawmakers profess their commitment to local aid, looming deficits that start arriving in 2017-18 have advocates for both constituencies admitting they’re worried.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CCM: Connecticut budget’s devilish details tarnish final result
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities strongly supports legislative efforts to reduce property tax reliance. We are appreciative that Gov. Dannel Malloy and legislative leaders have demonstrated their commitment toward finally addressing this outdated and overly burdensome tax system. The story, however, does not end there. Lost in the debate are details of significance to our local communities.