FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe Thornton, 475-318-4950

Click Here To “Do The Math”

In response to Governor Ned Lamont’s recent statements regarding his administration’s investments in Connecticut’s cities and towns, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities is setting the record straight. The governor’s claims paint an incomplete and misleading picture of the state’s financial commitments to local government.

Governor Lamont allegedly highlights investments his administration has made into CT towns and cities reeks of the political spin that has all too often come out of his Office of Political Misinformation (OPM) under the tenure of Secretary Beckham.

The Governor touts a “17% increase in the ECS grant” without acknowledging the following facts:

• Increases in ECS that were made in 2023 were done by the General Assembly over objections by the Governor at the time.
• In 2024 the Governor’s own budget proposed reducing those investments by $63 Million.
• An independent analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) outlines that in real dollars the state has reduced its proportional share of public education spending during Governor Lamont’s tenure by a whopping $407 million annually. (Note: BCG is hired regularly by OPM to do independent outside analysis of a variety of issues)

The Governor touts a “Doubling of PILOT Funding” without acknowledging the following facts:

• PILOT increases were the priority of Speaker Ritter and Senate President Looney. The Governor has never proposed increases to PILOT funding in any budget he has presented.
• PILOT remains underfunded by over $400M which is striking considering state statute only suggests towns be reimbursed 45% off the lost revenue for state owned property and 77% for private colleges and hospitals.

The Governor suggests that under his tenure “General Governmental Aid has Doubled” without outlining the following:

• OPM considers the Motor Vehicle Reimbursement as state aid. This is not state aid but rather a payment to cover a new motor vehicle policy enacted by the state.
• OPM reports payments into the Teachers’ Retirement System as local aid. It is not! This is the state making a payment into a state-run retirement program that towns and cities neither administer nor control.

And, what about the State’s share of gaming revenues (Pequot/Mohegan Fund) that the Governor’s statement did not address:

• While gaming revenues continue to climb, the percent of revenues that are shared with local governments have declined from 23% to 18% over the past decade.
• These revenues to towns and cities that once totaled $135 million in 2002 are now down to $52.4 million.
• Governor Lamont vetoed a bill to restore this funding to its 2002 level.

“Local leaders are being asked to do more with less, and the state’s leadership needs to be honest about the challenges our communities face,” added CCM Executive Director and CEO Joe DeLong. “It’s time for real solutions that provide stable, predictable, and sufficient funding for our cities and towns - not just political talking points.”

The reality is this. Residents can easily fact check any of these numbers by simply looking at their own property tax bills over the past six years. During the Governor’s time in office property taxes have increased by over $1 billion. This has occurred over seven consecutive years of state budget surpluses and a full rainy-day fund. Of course, to be fair the Governor has proposed offsetting these property tax increases with a $50 credit on state income tax filings.

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