Riverfront Recapture suffers 20% budget cut

HARTFORD – Riverfront Recapture, a nonprofit that manages the Hartford-area’s riverfront parks system, was reeling Tuesday from an unexpected budget cut by one of its main revenue streams, the Metropolitan District Commission.

The MDC voted Monday night to cut its budget for Riverfront Recapture by about 50 percent, from $1.25 million to $600,000, in the coming year. The money represents about 20% of Riverfront Recapture’s annual budget to manage parks along the Connecticut River in Hartford and East Hartford, and run public events and programs, according to the nonprofit’s president and CEO, Michael Zaleski.

MDC has helped fund Riverfront Recapture for years through a surcharge. Last December, the commission resolved to incrementally reduce its funding for the nonprofit over five years, reaching $600,000 in fiscal year 2024.

Instead, the commission decided to make the full cut in the coming year, as well as decrease funding to Lake McDonough and the reservoirs in Bloomfield and West Hartford, in order to ease the water rates hike it’s passing on to customers.

“We were working under the expectation it would be done in a thoughtful way, recognizing the impact it would have on our operations,” Zaleski said. “Last night, they chose to ignore that resolution and make this draconian cut. This will impact our parks system.”

The commission voted Monday night to raise water rates for the Hartford area by 13.43%, slightly less than the 14.57% increase originally proposed in the 2020 budget.

The increase raises water rates from $3.50 to $3.97, starting Jan. 1. If MDC had not lowered its funding to Riverfront Recapture and the other park areas, the water rate would have increased to $4.01.

That would have left Riverfront Recapture with $1.08 million, a 13% cut rather than 50%, which the nonprofit was going to absorb by leaving about 1.5 positions vacant and potentially scaling back public events and park maintenance, Zaleski said.

He spent Tuesday reaching out to lawmakers, civic leaders and sponsors to start trying to fill the gap in the organization’s $3.2 million budget.

The MDC released a statement Tuesday saying it would also work with the legislative delegation and municipal officials from member and non-member towns to look for additional money. The commission, also a nonprofit, said its rates hike to customers was “unavoidable,” in large part because of declining water use and sales, which don’t translate to lower costs to MDC.

More than 800,000 people last year visited Riverfront Recapture’s parks, including Mortenson Riverfront Plaza in downtown Hartford, Charter Oak Landing and the Riverfront Boathouse, according to Zaleski. The figure increases every year.

“We’re still working on what we’ll do,” he said.