
State cuts of $1 million in municipal funding to Ansonia and over $800,000 in municipal funding to Derby is not acceptable.
When comparing the State’s current budget to the 2017 budget the unfortunate truth is that the State of Connecticut will cut funding to Ansonia by OVER $1 MILLION!
In 2017, municipal aid for Ansonia totaled $1,341,633.
For 2019, municipal funding to Ansonia was cut by nearly $450,000. This year’s budget also allocated only $284,729 in municipal aid to Ansonia for 2020, totaling a $1,056,904 cut in municipal funding!
In Derby, municipal aid in 2017 totaled $2,080,021. For 2019, the City of Derby’s municipal funding was cut over $400,000 and an over $800,000 cut is scheduled for 2020 and 2021.
Considering that Ansonia and Derby, both labeled by the State of Connecticut to be “distressed municipalities” should receive priority when it comes to State funding, it becomes clear that Ansonia and Derby are simply not a priority to our democratic leadership and representatives in Hartford.
Since, at least, 1999, the State of Connecticut maintained a list of the most distressed municipalities. According to the State of Connecticut, the distressed municipality list serves the purpose of “identifying the state’s most fiscally and economically distressed municipalities and are used by state agencies to target funds for needs which may include housing, insurance, open space, brownfield remediation and economic development programs, among others.”
Ansonia and Derby, since 1999, have both been identified by the State of Connecticut to be among the most distressed municipalities based upon a list of statistical indicators including the residents’ need for public services, their personal income and the tax base of each town.
Despite recognizing that Ansonia and Derby are to be among the highest proprieties when it comes to municipal aid and funding we are now faced with over $1 million in municipal funding cuts to Ansonia and $800,000 in municipal funding cuts to Derby.
Back on November 3, 2018, then candidate Lamont, flanked by then candidate Kara Rochelle, stood outside the Derby train station, holding a campaign rally where Governor Lamont was quoted to have said that “this part of the state” meaning Ansonia and Derby, “has long been neglected.”
Now, a year later, that campaign publicity stunt has long been forgotten and Governor Lamont and Representative Rochelle have required that the taxpayers of Ansonia and Derby – the very same taxpayers they recognized to be distressed – shoulder the State’s shortfalls. Their actions have done nothing to assist our Cities’ efforts in revitalizing our communities. We, as a community, need to demand that Hartford no longer neglect the residents of Ansonia and Derby and demand that they restore municipal funding to our Cities!
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