Municipalities Desperate to Avoid Cuts in State Aid

Towns and cities around the state are waiting anxiously to hear what the governor will say about funding for municipalities during his annual budget address Wednesday.

Town managers, mayors and first selectmen expressed doubts that Connecticut municipalities could survive a round of spending reductions in the form of aid to cities and towns.

“Let’s face it, when you cut, I've got to still provide those services or I've got to eliminate those services," said South Windsor Town Manager Matthew Galligan. "We’re very lean as it is now and that means taxes are going to go up and the property taxes."

Galligan, along with leaders from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, has consistently said the only way to make up revenue in the event of cuts is to raise property taxes in their respective communities.

"That's our only option," Galligan said.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said during an interview Tuesday that the state should expect cuts worth "hundreds of millions" but wouldn't provide specifics about the proposal.

“I think that what I am attempting to do is to have the state live within its means and honor its long-term commitments, whether it’s paying for our pension obligations or working with local governments so that they don’t suffer," Malloy said.

The harsh winter has also played a part in municipal budget issues, according to Galligan.

"We're buying the same salt and supplies the state is, and we're hurting," he said.

Galligan added that resources are stretched as thin as possible.

“Right now, I have this year in Public Works the same number of people that I had in 1989, but I have a hundred more miles of road," he said. "I have more parks to take care of, more streets to clean and we’ve used all of the technology, so any cut in our staff or to our services would devastate our local government.”

Simply put, Galligan said he hopes he won't have to turn to leaders of other towns cities for advice on how to manage cuts in state aid.

“Right now we’re at a point where we can’t take any cuts. It’s just not going to happen,” he said.