This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

COST Leaders Speak out on Budget

Leaders from the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST) address the legislature's Appropriations Committee regarding the proposed budget.

Town leaders representing the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST) addressed the legislature’s Appropriations Committee to highlight how the Governor’s proposed budget will impact towns.

“Connecticut has faced enormous challenges over the last year - a daunting budget deficit, a series of destructive storms and a tragedy of profound proportion.  We applaud Governor Malloy’s leadership in meeting these challenges with dignity and determination,” said John Elsesser, Town Manager of Coventry and COST Vice President.

“Recognizing that the state is facing a $1 billion plus deficit, COST appreciates Governor Malloy’s efforts to keep towns whole. Given the size of the budget deficit, municipal leaders were very concerned – and continue to be concerned - that towns will be faced with across the board cuts in critical categories of state aid. It cannot be said enough - Cutting state aid to towns and cities will simply shift the burden onto the backs of local property taxpayers, undermining local economies and compromising the ability of towns to deliver critical services,” Elsesser said.

Find out what's happening in North Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Elsesser also highlighted areas of concern with the proposed budget. “COST opposes authorizing the governor to unilaterally cut municipal aid by up to 5%. Towns need to rely on the amount of state aid that is approved by lawmakers and signed into law by the governor in order to effectively manage budgets, personnel and services. Mid-year cuts of up to 5% - an estimated $149 million per year – would devastate towns and disrupt the delivery of critical services to our residents. This proposal would allow deep budget cuts to hang over our towns like the Sword of Damocles,” Elsesser explained   

“Eliminating certain cars from the property tax makes no sense.  It provides little, if any, relief to taxpayers and imposes an added burden on homeowners and businesses which are also struggling,” added Elsesser.

Find out what's happening in North Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Barbara Gilbert, Town Manager for Rocky Hill and COST Treasurer also cautioned lawmakers about the elimination of the State Property PILOT.

“I have serious concerns regarding how the elimination of the PILOT program will impact the bottom line during the next budget cycle and even more so in the long term.  This major shift in public policy will have a drastic effect on municipalities leaving everyone concerned about the stability and predictability of revenue sources,” said Gilbert.

Rocky Hill hosts twenty-one state properties, made up of thirteen different agencies, two state parks and a variety of yet to be developed properties.  The elimination of the PILOT program will have a tremendous impact on our community and its residents,” said Gilbert. 

COST leaders did urge support for proposals in the Governor’s proposed budget that focused on investing in infrastructure.

“COST strongly supports Governor Malloy’s budget proposal to increase funding for the Town Aid Road program and restore funding for the Local Bridge program. Supporting investment in local infrastructure is vital to Connecticut’s small towns. Well-maintained roads and bridges provide small towns with a strong foundation for supporting economic development and protecting public safety,” added Gilbert.

Laura Francis, First Selectman of the Town of Durham addressed the committee regarding education issues.

“The Governor’s proposed budget increases ECS funding significantly for 30 towns and provides additional funding for a total of 117 communities.  However, the ECS grant continues to be underfunded, forcing towns to make difficult decisions about cutting critical educational programs or shifting more of the burden of public education onto property taxpayers,” Francis said. 

Francis also raised concerns regarding the impact of the proposed budget on regional school districts. “The proposed budget eliminates the student transportation grant.  Although the loss of funds is offset for local school districts through the creation of a Hold Harmless grant, it does not offset the loss of such funds for Regional School Districts,” explained Francis. 

“Regional School District 13 will receive no state transportation funds under Gov. Malloy’s proposed budget - a loss of $282,257 compared to the current year. This is an enormous loss of revenue for our district and the Board of Education is considering cuts in programs and staff that may undermine the quality of education in our schools. The other 18 regional school districts in the state are facing comparable reductions in transportation funding. This is unfair to regional school districts that have strived to develop quality educational programs for the communities they serve,” Francis said.

Leo Paul, First Selectman of Litchfield and COST Board Officer offered lawmakers some suggestions in helping towns.

“Given the considerable budget challenges facing the state, Connecticut must act now to relieve some of the burden on our small towns and cities.  Towns need the tools to control local costs.  Unfortunately, efforts to control municipal costs are often frustrated by state mandates that make it almost impossible to reduce budgets or negotiate savings in health care, pension and wage costs.  To help our cities and towns meet the difficult challenges of today’s economy, meaningful mandate relief must be on the table,” said Paul.   

“Unfortunately, there are only a handful of mandate relief bills pending before the legislature this session, including a bill to allow towns to post legal notices on municipal websites another measure to require any new unfunded mandate to be adopted by a 2/3 majority of the legislature,” Paul added.

Gayle Weinstein, First Selectman of the Town of Weston also urged lawmakers toaddress growing concerns that towns and cities are shouldering the burden for an increasing portion of municipal pension costs.  Under the Municipal Employees Retirement System, the municipal employee contribution rate is capped.  As a result, municipalities are picking up a greater share, forcing some towns to reduce critical town services or lay off staff in order to accommodate these increases,” Weinstein said. “We must adopt legislation to fund the retirement system more equitably.”

COST is an advocacy organization committed to giving small towns a strong voice in the legislative process. Its members are Connecticut towns with populations of less than 30,000. COST champions the major policy needs and concerns of Connecticut’s suburban and rural towns.  More information is available at www.ctcost.org

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?