Cash-Strapped Central Connecticut Towns Urge Unfunded Mandate Relief in Upcoming State Budget

State Senator Jason Welch displays a thick stack of unfunded mandates that the state of Connecticut imposes on towns during a Thursday press conference at the Legislative Office Building. Senator Welch and other area officials want to see mandate relief in Gov. Dannel Malloy’s upcoming budget.

State legislators, school superintendents, and municipal leaders from several central Connecticut towns sent a letter to Governor Dannel P. Malloy today in a bipartisan appeal for relief from unfunded state mandates in the state budget that the governor will unveil Wednesday.

Officials from Bristol, Harwinton, New Britain, Plainville, and Plymouth discussed their appeal to the governor during a press conference Thursday at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. To make their point about the burdens they face, officials displayed thick binders containing lists of all of the state’s mandates on towns.

“Bristol and our surrounding communities are cash-strapped,” State Senator Jason Welch of Bristol said. “And though we have sought relief in the past, every year we hear excuses from Hartford as to why we could not see reforms. As a former mayor, Governor Malloy understands all too well the struggles and frustrations of municipal leaders. He knows that mandate relief can help municipalities balance their budgets. We are optimistic that our voices will be heard this year.”

“We are a diverse group – Democrats, Republicans, state and local officials – and we are speaking in one voice,” Bristol State Representative Whit Betts said. “We do so because this deficit is not a Democrat or Republican problem. It is our problem collectively and it is not going away until we stand together as Connecticut residents and take immediate bold steps.”

Bristol Mayor Art Ward advocated pushing aside some state mandates that weigh heavily on his city, such as being forced to pay union-scale wages on all municipal construction jobs. “Some of the unfunded mandates can probably be lifted permanently,” Mayor Ward said. “While others can be eased, even temporarily, to alleviate the monetary burdens they impose on our cash-strapped towns and cities. Lifting or easing the mandates could free up much needed cash for public safety, public works and other essentials.”

Local education officials noted that burdensome unfunded mandates negatively impact their budgets every year.

“The most burdensome mandates come in the area of education and special education, because that’s where our cities and towns are shouldering more and more costs,” Bristol School Superintendent Phillip Streifer said. “For example, the state’s special education requirements are more stringent than what it required by federal law. School districts incur more costs as a result. When the state caps its aid to towns, these costs are even more burdensome.”

“The administration has said that under these financial conditions they do not foresee signing any new unfunded mandates on cities or towns this year, and we applaud that,” Senator Welch said. “Our goal now is to get these thick lists of mandates thinned out. The thinner and lighter the lists get, the better off all of our towns and taxpayers will be.”

Other participants at the press conference were:

Bristol City Councilman Ken Cockayne
Plymouth Mayor Vincent Festa
Harwinton First Selectman Frank Chiaramonte
Plainville Finance Director Rob Buden (on behalf of Plainville Town Council Chair Dan Hurly and Plainville Town Manager Robert Lee)
Plymouth School Superintendent Anthony Distasio

New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart