Members of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities say Governor Dannel Malloy’s new report on the level of state aid to cities and towns is unfair. On Wednesday, 25 municipal leaders went to the state Capitol to protest the report.
Coventry Town Manager John Elsesser says the governor’s plan to shift the $400 million state teacher pension payments to municipalities would lead to property tax increases, which he says would damage the local economy.
“If you look at business community in the state of Connecticut, their number one complaint is not corporate taxes or personal income tax. Their number one complaint is property taxes. You want to create an economy in the state of Connecticut that’s strong, you cannot increase property taxes.”
Joe DeLong, executive director of CCM, says the governor is wrong to claim that shifting the state teacher pension payments to cities and towns is structural reform.
“What was determined is how to pay for teachers’ retirement – which was to shift it away from the state and into the property tax. There is nothing in that budget proposal that identifies any reform whatsoever of what is considered to be a broken teachers’ retirement system.”
Governor Malloy released his report last week to show the level and distribution of state aid to cities and towns and the fact that a number of Connecticut towns have adequate municipal fund balances.
Connecticut is heading into its third month without a state budget.
