The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
State rep.: Eliminate road aid for anti-toll cities
STAMFORD — A state representative from East Hartford tried a bold tactic on Sunday in defense of a proposed plan to return tolls to state highways: suggesting cutting local aid to any communities that oppose it.
In a tweet posted over the weekend, state Rep. Jason Rojas, a Democrat, wrote: “Here’s an idea. Every town that passes an anti-toll resolution gets their Town Aid Road, LOCIP and any other state aid for infrastructure eliminated. Cool?”
The acronym LOCIP refers to “local capital improvement program.”
Rojas is co-chair of the state’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.
On Monday, Rojas defended the tweet as more of a question than a statement. He said he was trying to make the point that the state’s budgetary problems could result in less funding for municipalities without a revenue source such as tolls to counteract them.
“The reality is there are a lot of resources transferred to cities and towns,” Rojas said. “I’m not advocating for eliminating them … but those programs are at risk.”
Some local representatives in Stamford, where an anti-toll resolution will go before the full Board of Representatives, did not see such nuance in the tweet.
Steve Kolenberg, a member of the Stamford Board of Representatives who co-authored the resolution against tolls, said such a response is exactly why he doesn’t have faith in a state tolls plan.
“It just proves to me that we can’t trust Hartford with the revenue that’s going to be collected for tolls,” Kolenberg said. “If they’re willing to get so petty because our resolution hurt their feelings, it just hammers home what we’ve been saying all along.”
Jeff Stella, a Democratic member of the Board of Representatives, is opposed to tolls, and responded on Twitter that Rojas should represent the people of the state, and those people have a right to voice their opinion.
Rojas said critics were overreacting to his tweet. It was not meant as a threat, he said.
“I fully appreciate that people don’t want to pay tolls,” he said, adding that he views tolls as a way to invest in fixing the state’s infrastructure.
Gov. Ned Lamont has said his tolling plan would raise $800 million a year and would include at least 30-percent discounts for Connecticut residents, in comparison to out-of-state drivers.
Rojas said the Finance Committee he co-chairs will take a look at general obligation bonds to pay for infrastructure improvements, a plan he said has never been truly examined and scrutinized. Republican legislators have long supported bonding for infrastructure work, even though Lamont said he would oppose a plan that leans heavily on borrowing.
“If that’s a viable option, I’m all ears,” Rojas said.
Nonetheless, he warned that general obligation bonds could mean a larger bill for Connecticut residents.
“If we’re moving all of our transportation to general obligation bonds, Connecticut taxpayers are paying the entire bill,” he said.
In comparison, tolls would partially collect money from out-of-state drivers.
Response to Rojas’ tweet on Twitter was overwhelmingly negative, but his post had been liked by Beth Bye, a former state senator who represented West Hartford and who recently accepted a position in the Lamont administration as head of the Office of Early Childhood, and state Rep. Steve Stafstrom, DBridgeport.
Besides Stamford, the town of Enfield also debated a resolution against tolls. By a vote of 6-4, the town passed the anti-toll statement, which has no legal impact, but is meant to send a message to the Capitol. The town of Trumbull is also going to debate an anti-toll resolution on March 4.
Kolenberg, who took part in an anti-toll protest in Stamford on Saturday, called legislators in Hartford “thugs.”
“Their behavior is showing the accuracy of that label,” he said.