COST Policy Priorities


 

  

COST is the strong voice of Connecticut’s suburban and rural towns.

Connecticut Council of Small Towns 2008 Legislative Platform

COST is the strong voice of Connecticut’s smaller communities. Its members – 1st selectmen, mayors, town managers and other municipal leaders - convene annually at Connecticut’s Town Meeting to discuss and vote on a Legislative Platform. The COST Legislative Platform represents the members' highest-priority policy concerns to be advocated during the upcoming legislative session of the Connecticut General Assembly.

INTRODUCTION

Note: COST’s Proposed 2008 Legislative Platform was discussed - and adopted - by the membership of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns during the COST annual meeting on January 30, 2008.

The COST Board of Directors met during December 2007 to discuss COST’s possible 2008 legislative priorities based on responses by members to COST’s online legislative survey. This input opinion helped shape what COST calls its 2008 “focus issues”.

Fundamental to its legislative action strategy for the 2008 session is the assumption that COST will have an informed and action-oriented grassroots membership of municipal leaders who will lobby their legislators and testify on these important municipal issues. Below are the seven focus issues recommended by the Board of Directors and adopted by the membership during its annual meeting on January 30, 2008.

COST 2008 FOCUS ISSUES

1. AN ACT RESTORING FUNDS FOR THE TOWN AID FOR ROADS PROGRAM

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. That funding for the Town Aid Road program, which provides grants to towns and cities for the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of local roads and bridges be increased from $30 million per year to $50 million per year.

Statement of Purpose: To provide adequate funding for the Town Aid for Roads Program.

2. AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPAL REAL ESTATE CONVEYANCE TAXES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

That the general statutes be amended to make permanent and maintain the existing levels of real estate conveyance tax rates.

Statement of Purpose: To relieve the burden of property taxes.

3. AN ACT CONCERNING A THRESHOLD FOR PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

That subsection (g) 31-53 of the general statutes be amended to provide that the prevailing wage shall not apply to public works projects for new construction where the total cost is less than one million dollars or for remodeling, refurbishing, rehabilitation, alteration or repair where the total cost is less than one million dollars and to index the threshold for all municipal construction projects to the inflation rate.

Statement of Purpose: To increase the prevailing wage thresholds for municipal construction projects.

4. MAINTAIN FULL FUNDING FOR THE LOCAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

Like the Town Aid Road program, the Local Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP) provides municipalities with an invaluable source of support for local infrastructure improvement projects. The State of Connecticut’s commitment to local capital improvement projects such as roads, bridges or other important public building construction activities must be maintained. COST will advocate for full LoCIP funding for FY 2008-09.

5. FULLY FUND THE SMALL TOWN ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (STEAP)

The Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) provides municipalities with an invaluable source of support for local economic and community development projects in small towns. COST will advocate for full STEAP funding of $20 million for FY 2008-09.

6. OPPOSE UNFUNDED MANDATES

Unfunded state mandates put an unfair fiscal burden on towns. Municipalities are experiencing enormous financial difficulties because of their over reliance on property taxes to pay for essential public services. Given current limited levels of state aid, towns cannot afford new unfunded mandates. COST urges the Legislature to adopt a statutory prohibition against unfunded state mandates on municipalities.

7. OPPOSE PROPERTY TAX CAPS

Taxpayers who reside in most of Connecticut’s smaller towns and cities have the opportunity to directly influence the annual budgets adopted by their municipalities. A state-imposed property tax cap would unfairly limit democratic action by these citizens. Caps are not the answer to the problems municipalities are experiencing because of their over reliance on property taxes to pay for essential public services. COST urges the Legislature not to adopt property tax caps and support property tax reform. Back to top

STATE AID TO MUNICIPALITIES

Increase Educational Cost Sharing Grants to Suburban and Rural Towns
While COST recognizes the fiscal pressures facing the State, it does not believe these pressures justify a failure to significantly improve funding for K-12 local education in communities where Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants are capped, or where municipalities receive minimal levels of funding. Inadequate ECS funding of local education merely shifts the State’s fiscal burdens to municipalities, and results in untenable increases in local property taxes. COST urges the Legislature and the Governor to act during the 2008 session to significantly increase education funding to these under-funded communities. Specifically, COST recommends amending the education cost sharing formula by increasing the foundation, linking future annual increases to the foundation to the consumer price index, removing the cap on the formula and establishing an increased de minimus aid level which recognizes that all towns are entitled to a fair-$hare base level of state aid for K-12 education.

Increase Funding for Excess Cost Grants (Special Education)
The cost of special education continues to grow at an exponential rate and is placing an untenable fiscal burden on many towns. COST advocates a reduction in the State threshold for special education excess cost grants to a maximum of two and one-half times the average educational cost of the school district.

Make Substantial Investments in the Town Aid Road (TAR) Program
For many smaller communities the Town Aid Road (TAR) program is one of their few sources of state aid. It provides towns with an essential source of financial support with which to make critically important improvements in the local road network. TAR funding levels are the same today as they were in 1967 when the program was established. During this period the consumer price index and the price of petroleum products have increased precipitously - yet TAR investments have not. Failure to maintain TAR at a sufficient level of funding has made it very difficult for towns to adequately maintain local roads and bridges. COST is launching a campaign in 2008 to promote a substantial increase in funding for the TAR program.

Maintain Full Funding for the Local Capital Improvement Program (LOCIP)
Like the Town Aid Road program, the Local Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP) provides municipalities with an invaluable source of support for local infrastructure improvement projects. The State of Connecticut’s commitment to local capital improvement projects such as roads, bridges or other important public building construction activities must be maintained. COST will advocate for full LoCIP funding for FY 2008-09.

Fully Fund Pequot/Mohegan & Pilot Programs
Connecticut towns, which are overly reliant on property taxes to pay for essential public services, need the State of Connecticut to provide fair levels of funding for statutory aid programs including the Pequot/Mohegan and PILOT grant programs. COST advocates full funding for both programs for FY 2008-09.

FINANCE, STATE BONDING AND TAX POLICIES

Implement Property Tax Reform Initiatives
In an ongoing effort to reduce municipal over-reliance on local property taxes to fund essential local services, including education, COST urges passage of a bill that would fund a statewide build-out analysis and a tax incidence study.

Make the Current Municipal Conveyance Tax Rate Permanent
In 2007 the Legislature agreed to a one-year extension of the increased municipal portion of the conveyance tax (from the old rate of $1.10 per $1,000 to $2.50 per $1,000 of transaction sales price). This increase, scheduled to sunset on July 1, 2008, has provided towns and cities with sorely needed revenues. COST advocates eliminating the sunset provision and making permanent the municipal portion of the conveyance tax at its present rate.

Continue and Enhance the Small Town Economic Assistance Program
COST advocates institutionalizing the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) at a minimum of $30 million per year. Such “institutionalization” is necessary to provide ongoing commitments of economic development funding to more than 130 suburban and rural towns, as is provided to the cities through the Urban Action Grant Program.

Provide Towns With Local Option For Conveyance Tax
During the past decade many towns have seen the local quality of life threatened by the rapid increase in both residential and commercial development and the decline of open space. In order to preserve prime land for the future benefit of community residents, many grassroots leaders have been seeking to stem the tide of development by purchasing such open space. However, state aid for open space acquisition has declined precipitously and prospects for increases in funding are dim. Consequently, COST supports the passage of legislation to enable towns to adopt an optional local conveyance tax as a new source of revenue for the purpose of acquiring open space.

Continue Support for the State Clean Water Fund
The legislature authorized $90 million in both years of the biennium for Clean Water Fund grants through General Obligation bonds. The Clean Water Fund provides grants and loans (from revenue bonds) to municipalities to plan, design, and build wastewater treatment plants. COST supports authorizing similar bonding amounts in future years. Back to top

UNFUNDED MUNICIPAL MANDATES

Prohibit Unfunded Mandates
Unfunded state mandates put an unfair fiscal burden on towns. Municipalities are experiencing enormous financial difficulties because of their over reliance on property taxes to pay for essential public services. Given current limited levels of state aid, towns cannot afford new unfunded mandates. COST urges the Legislature to adopt a statutory prohibition against unfunded state mandates on municipalities.

Reform Binding Arbitration Mandate
The binding arbitration mandate significantly increases the overall cost of municipal budgets. In these difficult economic times, current binding arbitration laws can no longer be justified. COST urges the passage of legislation to modify the Municipal Employee Relations Act and the Teacher Negotiation Act to give towns the right to reject arbitration awards by a two-thirds vote of town’s legislative body. COST also urges the Legislature to adopt the 2006 recommendations of the Program Review and Investigations Committee: “The Teacher Negotiation Act shall be amended to require fully stipulated awards be considered negotiated agreements and submitted to the local legislative body for review. Should the local legislative body reject the stipulated award, then the first panel arbitration process would begin anew. The opportunity for review by a second panel would not be available for stipulated awards rejected by local legislative bodies that go again into arbitration.”

Increase Prevailing Wage Thresholds on Municipal Projects
Current estimates indicate that the prevailing wage mandate increases the costs of applicable local projects by up to 20%. Municipal taxpayers unnecessarily pay millions of dollars in higher costs for public works projects. COST supports passage of legislation to establish a single-tier, one million dollar threshold for prevailing wage rates on local public works projects. The threshold would apply to both new construction and renovations and would be indexed annually for inflation.

Reform Property Storage Mandate
State mandates place heavy financial burdens on towns and cities. One such mandate requires that municipalities gather and store personal property belonging to evicted tenants. COST opposes the municipal property storage mandate and will advocate legislation eliminating the requirement that municipalities gather and store the personal property belonging to evicted tenants.

PROMOTE HEALTHY COMMUNITIES & STRONG GRASSROOTS GOVERNMENT

Preserve and Strengthen the Municipal Probate Judge System
COST supports strengthening and preserving local probate courts in smaller communities. COST opposes the mandatory consolidation of local probate courts (directly or indirectly) and opposes any financing scheme for local courts that would be unfair to small towns. COST supports the development of a fair and equitable fee structure to help relieve the financial pressures that some probate courts may be experiencing.

Prohibit Bans on Volunteer Firefighters
Some cities in Connecticut have enacted contracts with their paid firefighters that prohibit them from serving as volunteer firefighters in their own hometowns. These “anti-volunteerism” contract provisions are creating a public safety crisis in many suburban and rural towns. COST will support legislation to be introduced during the 2008 session that would outlaw municipal contract prohibitions against volunteer firefighting.

Ensure Balanced Municipal Ethics Requirements
The legislature passed a bill in 2007 establishing a task force to study recommendations by the Office of State Ethics for implementing a municipal code of ethics. The task force is required to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature’s Government Elections and Administration Committee by January 1, 2009. COST is opposed to previously proposed polices that would be extraordinarily costly and which contained provisions requiring public service volunteers to file personal financial disclosure statements. The fiscal note on the original proposed municipal ethics legislation indicated that the cost to towns affected by this bill would be no less than $60,000 per year. COST will monitor the hearings the Municipal Ethics Task Force and will continue to advocate for fair and balanced legislation that reflect the current views of its members.

Oppose Mandated Elimination of Part Time Health Departments
The Legislature may again raise a bill during the 2008 session of the Connecticut General Assembly that would effectively force towns to eliminate part-time health departments. COST opposes proposals that mandate the elimination of part-time health departments.

Promote Affordable Housing in Small Towns
The State’s Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Act provides that, unless 10% of a town’s housing is affordable, the town cannot deny a developer’s proposal for affordable housing without a very compelling reason. The law was modified during the 2002 session to allow a town to include “accessory apartments” as part of its 10% affordable housing count. However, under the amended Act, accessory apartments must have a 10 year deed restriction committing the owner to rent the apartment at 30% or less of the tenant’s income, and to someone whose income is less than or equal to 80% of the area, or the state’s median income, whichever is less. This onerous provision will reduce the number of homeowners willing to have their accessory apartments used to help meet the towns’ “affordable housing” obligations. COST supports legislation that would modify the State’s Affordable Housing Appeals procedure to allow existing affordable market rate units to be considered in meeting the 10% threshold and to allow existing development patterns to be a factor in determining the density of proposed affordable developments.

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Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved by the Connecticut Council of Small Towns.