The 2007 state legislative priorities of Connecticut municipalities were announced today (Monday morning, January 8) by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), Connecticut’s statewide association of towns and cities.

CCM-member municipal leaders are calling on Governor Rell and the General Assembly to enact a series of initiatives aimed at providing increased property tax relief, stopping sprawl development, and investing in Connecticut infrastructure needs, during the 2007 state legislative session that began on January 3.

“With a growing state-budget surplus, Connecticut has a rare opportunity to take giant steps toward the long-elusive goals of reforming our property tax and land use systems, and we can begin to make front-end infrastructure investments in Connecticut’s future,” CCM wrote in its statement of legislative priorities.

“It’s clear that our citizens and businesses are hungry for reform; the property tax system is overburdened and swamps the ability of residents and small businesses to pay for local services,” said CCM in its priorities statement. “The time for more reports, forums, studies and task forces is over. The time to act is now.”

See below for complete details on these priority initiatives.

CCM’s state legislative priorities were adopted by CCM’s Legislative Committee (a committee of the whole) as the heart of CCM’s 2007 State Legislative Action Program. These priority initiatives represent the consensus of CCM’s 140 member towns and cities, small and large throughout Connecticut.

With a growing state-budget surplus, Connecticut has a rare opportunity to take giant steps toward the long-elusive goals of reforming our property tax and land use systems. And we can begin to make front-end investments in Connecticut’s future.

It is clear that our citizens and businesses are hungry for reform: the property tax system is overburdened and swamps the ability of residents and small businesses to pay for local services. People across Connecticut see the devastating effects that sprawl development is having on our quality of life, and they fear that the face of their state will be permanently disfigured unless something is done. Further, the State can seize this opportunity to make strategic investments that will provide long-term economic and social benefits. The relationship between state agencies and municipalities should be streamlined, for example by establishing municipal liaisons in key agencies, so that both levels of government can work expeditiously on economic development, transportation and environmental projects.

The time for more reports, forums, studies and task forces is over. The time to act is now.

Provide Property Tax Relief

• Make permanent existing real estate conveyance tax rates. Unless the General Assembly and the Governor act, towns and cities will lose over $40 million in non-property tax revenue as of July 1, 2007.
• Use the broader and more equitable revenue-raising capacity of the State to (1) increase state funding to towns and cities, and (2) restore funding to municipal aid programs that were cut in previous tough-budget years, particularly the Pequot-Mohegan Fund.
• Increase the State’s share of the costs of K-12 public education by:
  1. Fully funding the ECS formula so that it better reflects the original formula. Changes should include: Increasing the foundation to an amount reflective of actual costs; Increasing the minimum aid component so that every community receives an appropriate minimum level of state aid; and un-capping every town; and
  2. Requiring the State to reimburse municipalities for at least 50% of Special Education costs statewide. To reach that goal, either re-establish the need-based 30% - 70% reimbursement program, established by PA 89-355 but later eliminated, or significantly reduce the reimbursement threshold under the excess cost program.
• Fully fund mandates on municipalities, including full funding of payments in-lieu-of taxes PILOT reimbursements for revenues lost due to state-mandated property tax exemptions.
• Enact a statutory prohibition against new unfunded mandates, unless there is a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the General Assembly.
• Provide for state assumption of the administration and cost of municipal programs where it would bring about greater efficiency and overall tax savings. For example, have the State assume all or part of the costs of providing health care benefits for municipal employees - such a change would bring significant reductions in property tax rates.

Stop Sprawl

1. Encouraging Regional Cooperation and Decision-Making
   • Create incentives for the establishment of newly empowered councils of government (COGs) in each of the 15 planning regions of our state so that municipal CEOs in each region meet, on a regular basis, to discuss and act on issues of mutual concern - including economic development, land-use planning and joint service delivery.
   • Enable such COGs to (a) share the property tax benefits of economic development in order to encourage cooperation and smart growth, (b) share a portion of state sales tax and other revenues collected within a region, and (c) exercise other powers that encourage intermunicipal cooperation, decision-making and regional success.
2. Strengthen State-Local Planning Capabilities
   • Increase the land use planning and technical assistance capacity of the state Office of Policy and Management and regional planning organizations, as called for by the Governor’s Executive Order 15.
   • Implement a coordinated statewide Geographic Information System (GIS).
   • Complete, and disseminate the results from, the build-out analysis established in last year’s transportation investment initiative.

Invest In Connecticut’s Future

• Help municipalities meet the clean water needs of Connecticut by providing funding through the Clean Water Fund -- $157 million for FY 08 and $137 million for FY 09 -- for grants and loans to municipalities that are ready to proceed with Clean Water projects.
• Commit to re-building Connecticut by improving infrastructure investment in programs such as the Local Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP), Urban Action Program, Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), Town Aid Roads (TAR), School Construction grants, and grants to convert municipal buildings and facilities to alternative energy sources.
• Help fight sprawl by increasing funding for open space and agricultural land preservation. Spur economic development by remediating contaminated “brownfield” properties.
• Build on the positive transportation investments made in 2006 to (1) alleviate traffic congestion throughout the state, and (2) invest in multi-modal mass transit and highway expansion where appropriate. Explore and implement innovative revenue sources that have worked in other states and nations (electronic user fees, public-private partnerships, etc.).