Newington Officials Concerned About Covering Hartford Sewer Bill Deficit

Newington’s Town Council is the latest to express concern about taking a potential hit to help Hartford cover missions of dollars in sewer payments to the Metropolitan District Commission.

“They represent 26.3 percent of the total revenue to the Metropolitan District sources and it’s pretty difficult to run a business with a 25 to 26 percent deduction,” MDC Chairman William Dibella said.

Hartford has committed to paying half of the $11 million sewer payment, according to the MDC.

If it doesn’t find the other half in its next budget or if the issue cannot be resolved in the general assembly, the other towns that make up the MDC will have to pick up the rest and that means Newington, West Hartford, Bloomfield, Windsor, Wethersfield, East Hartford and Rocky Hill are all taking a close look at their own budgets.

“Right now we do not have the ability to borrow for operating expenses to close that gap,” Dibella said.

For Newington, that would be a $718,000 bill to cover Hartford, on top of the money they owe for their own town.

If Hartford does pay its other half, the MDC said they would not collect money from the other town. If the capital city does not, that money would be due October 2017 and Dibella said he understands all the frustrations.

“People shouldn’t be asked to pay other people’s bills and I think that’s part of the thing that has to be worked out with the legislature,” Dibella said.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin released a statement.

"We will do everything we can possibly do to get Hartford on the path to fiscal sustainability, but it's going to take fundamental changes at the state level this year -- because the root of the problem is that half of Hartford's property is non-taxable, and we have less taxable property than some of our much smaller suburban neighbors,” Bronin said. “We have to decide, as a state, whether we want a healthy, strong capital city and capital region. We've been saying for months that Hartford's fiscal health matters to the whole region, and this is just one of many examples of why that's true."