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Town Hall
Despite the state budget deficit and its attendant layoffs and cuts, Branford has managed to obtain more than $800,000 for educational funding and property tax relief, the town’s state legislators reported yesterday.
Legislators are facing a $930 million budget deficit in the fiscal year beginning July 1. They were supposed to vote on the budget Wednesday, the final day of the legislative session, but those plans were postponed when it became obvious there was not enough time for debate.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy said through a spokesman last night that he hoped the delay would not encourage lawmakers to try and change the Democratic budget plan. He said he will not “move from the principles we’ve agreed to.”
Democratic Senate President Martin Looney says he expects a special legislative session to be held early next week in order to pass a new budget. The budget the legislature was supposed to vote on yesterday includes additional pending cuts and no new tax increases.
Specifically, Branford will receive a $313,980 increase in education funding and $570,402 of the new property tax relief for a total of $806,543. When the original budget proposal came out in early April, Branford was slated to receive a cut to their Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant, the primary state funding received by the town.
“We have been battling long and hard to educate Hartford about the real needs that we have in Branford — needs driven by our town’s increasing Senior Citizen citizen population living on fixed incomes and by our growing diversity in the Branford schools. These new numbers are very encouraging and seem to indicate that our message is finally being received,” said State Rep.Lonnie Reed.
In addition to a boost in ECS funding, Branford will receive – for the first time – $570,402 in Municipal Revenue Sharing Account (MRSA) funding. Created in 2015, MRSA is a new state program that takes one half of a percent of sales tax revenue collected by the state and returns it to the towns for property tax relief.
The funding was applauded by Branford’s legislators, State Sen. Ted Kennedy, Jr. , (D) who represents six towns including Branford, Reed and State Rep. Sean Scanlon (D‑Stony Creek/Pine Orchard and Guilford). They had criticized the cuts and worked to convince House and Senate leaders how damaging the cuts would be.
“This budget cuts state spending to the level it was at four years ago and balances the budget without raising taxes or fees and without cutting our schools or towns,” said Kennedy. “We are increasing funding for cities and towns so that municipalities can lower property taxes, hire teachers, police officers and firefighters, and rebuild our roads and bridges.”
These new numbers are very encouraging and seem to indicate that our message is finally being received,” said Reed, who sits on the powerful finance and bonding committee.
“I’m proud to have worked with my colleagues … to be able to bring over $1 million in new funding back to the community that will help municipal leaders reduce the property tax burden on Branford families,” said Scanlon.
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