With two weeks left in the General Assembly session, things are looking bleak for any significant systemic or structural progress on behalf of towns and cities. Despite promises by some state officials that a year in which the state and towns face major fiscal problems would result in significant action for long term changes, the only major assistance thus far provided to municipalities has been to allow towns to delay revaluations until 2011.

In the meantime, (i) the General Assembly has refused to guarantee to municipalities even the budget numbers that were the same in all three budget proposals (the Governor’s, Appropriations and legislative Republicans), (ii) proposals for mandates reform sit on the calendar without being acted upon and (iii) legislators strip or kill proposals for diversifying municipal revenue (the most recent development is that an amendment will remove from a regional-incentive bill a proposal for a regional hotel/lodging tax).

There is a very real possibility that the legislative session will end on June 3 without progress on any of these fronts: (i) the continuing budget stalemate between the Executive and Legislative branches means nobody will commit to hard budget numbers – suggesting that cuts to municipal aid are possible even in areas in which the proposed budgets all agree, (ii) special interests continue to oppose local- or regional-option taxes, and many legislators are afraid to support even the possibility that local governments will impose additional taxes, and (iii) special-interest constituent groups fight every effort at reforming mandates that benefit them – at your property taxpayers’ expense.

All the while CCM’s list of new “unfunded mandates” contains almost 40 bills.

YOUR ACTION NEEDED

• Call your state legislative delegation and caucus leaders right away.

  House Democrats - (860) 240-8500 (also leave a message for Speaker Chris Donovan)

  Senate Democrats - (860) 240-8600 (also leave a message for Senate President Don Williams)

  House Republicans - (860) 240-8700 (also leave a message for Minority Leader Larry Cafero)

  Senate Republicans - (860) 240-8800 (also leave a message for Minority Leader John McKinney)

• Call Governor Rell at (860) 566-4840 -- identify yourself and leave a message with her telephone operator.