The 27-member board of directors of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities voted unanimously to endorse the collective package of recommendations presented by the state”™s Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth, aimed at restoring lasting financial stability to the state budget and to the fiscal partnership between the state and towns.
The CCM board emphasized that the 2018 General Assembly needs to take action on the full package, not take up some initiatives and disregard others.
The board action immediately followed a meeting of CCM”™s Legislative Committee, where more than 60 mayors, first selectmen and city/town managers were addressed by Speaker of the House Joseph Aresimowicz and Republican House Leader Themis Klarides.
“Connecticut has long been the land of steady habits, but the precarious fiscal condition that still plagues the state budget demands that Connecticut change key core public policies ”“ now,” said CCM Executive Director Joe DeLong. “We can wait no longer for substantive change that will set the state on a sustainable economic path that will benefit hard-pressed residents and businesses.”
Among the commission”™s recommendations are allowing municipal coalitions to add one-half of 1 percentage point to the sales tax rate to fund regional services and diversify local budgets; permitting municipalities to charge fees on nonprofit colleges and hospitals; and allowing towns to increase fees for use of the public rights of way, hotels, car rentals, and other services.
