What mayors want from the next governor
We asked the mayors of Connecticut’s seven largest cities what urban policies they’d like to see from Connecticut’s next governor. Here’s what they said.
Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim
▶ Fully fund Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) grants that replace revenue lost from non-taxable properties
▶ State assumes cities’ interest payments on pension obligations in exchange for cities reducing their mill rates
▶ Fund more brownfield clean-up projects
New Haven Mayor Toni Harp
▶ Fully fund PILOT grants
▶ Allow cities an alternative revenue source like sales tax revenue redistributed regionally based on population
▶ Increase funding for programs addressing mental illness and drug addiction
Stamford Mayor David Martin
▶ Fix the state’s structural budget deficits
▶ Fund improvements to Interstate 95 and MetroNorth
▶ Attract a STEM university to lower Fairfield County
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin
▶ Improve the rail system so New Haven is within one hour of New York City
▶ Increase the use of economic development organizations like the Capitol Region Development Authority to leverage private investment in cities
▶ Fully fund PILOT grants
Waterbury Chief of Staff to the Mayor Mackenzie DeMac
▶ Fully fund the Education Cost Sharing formula grants to municipalities
▶ Fund more brownfield cleanup projects
▶ Increase funding for job training programs
Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling
▶ Decrease reliance on property tax and increase use of other revenue streams
▶ Implement the transportation lock box so improvements can be funded
▶ Reform the Educational Cost Sharing grants formula
Danbury
Mayor Mark Boughton
▶ Limit unfunded mandates imposed by state onto municipalities by requiring a two-thirds majority of the Legislature to pass a mandate that would require municipal spending
▶ Eliminate or replace the motor vehicle tax
▶ Encourage regional revenue sharing and service delivery first voluntary, then mandatory