Preserving Local Public Services

Preserving Local Public Services

Updates & Resources on Municipal Budgets

Council 760 Members Leslie Gamsjager and Rich LaMothe, with His Wife Sheila, Planned Community Outreach Efforts to Urge Better Budget Choices in Woodbury

Too many municipal leaders have responded to growing budget deficits as if the only answer is cutting vital public services that working families and small businesses count on. Our members working for cities and towns are taking the lead on solving the economic crisis without sacrificing public health, safety, and the quality of life in our communities.

Politicians, economists, and advocates are weighing-in with competing proposals for short-term fixes to weather the current economic storm. Though Governor Rell has dropped her regressive property tax proposals for now, her latest municipal relief plan overlooks many of the real problems cities and towns face.

In her February 2009 biennial budget address, the Governor proposed "flat funding" state aid to Connecticut's 169 municipalities for the next two years. What she did not say, however, is that municipal grants critical to town budgets, such as PILOT, Pequot funds, and road maintenance, would actually decline during this period.

Meanwhile, many municipal elected officials and agency managers are demonstrating the kind of scattershot approach to closing budget shortfalls that hurts residents and businesses alike. Our members working for cities, towns, and school districts are speaking out for preserving the quality services that protect the health and safety in all of Connecticut's communities.