Sources have told NBC Connecticut that the car tax put in place last year may be raised slightly, meaning some taxpayers will pay more than initially expected and those funds would go to the state, rather than the city or town.
“We’re concerned that everything is on the table right now at a very late part of our budget cycle and we really want to be cognizant of the fact that we have to put budgets together and those timelines have passed," said Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, serving as the President of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.
Leaders from across Connecticut said Tuesday that if lawmakers follow through on their plan to trim more than $120 million from municipal aid, then the legislature needs to back off of mandates that municipalities have to pay for.
Cities and towns want to see the state ease on its insistence on minimum budget requirements for schools and they want to see more flexibility from union contracts at the local level.
Boughton said raising the car tax would be unacceptable and unfair to cities and towns who were depending on increased sales tax receipts to make up for lost car tax revenue that went to the state instead.
“They promised us a certain amount of sales tax money, they promised us money for car taxes and now we’re seeing moves to sweep those and put them back in the state budget. That is problematic for us.”
The Speaker of the House and the Connecticut Senate President Pro Tem weren't available for comment Tuesday. The House and Senate are expected to debate the latest budget plan by the end of the week during a Special Session.
