Herron Keyon Gaston

Moore, Gaston Highlight Funding for Bridgeport in State Budget

Today, state Senators Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) and Herron Keyon Gaston (D-Bridgeport) highlighted state funding for Bridgeport in the new biennial state budget. Included in the budget is increased funding for the city of Bridgeport, local K-12 education, area non-profits, and increased access to debt-free community college.

In the state budget which passed the State Senate today, funding for K-12 education in Bridgeport will be $192.4 million this year and $200.3 million the year after. These are increases over Fiscal Year 2023 of $3.4 million and $11.4 million, respectively. In addition, Bridgeport will receive increased funding for adult education for a total of $2.66 million in FY 2024 and $2.67 million in FY 2025.

Beyond education funding, the city of Bridgeport will receive: $22.4 million each year through the Payment in Lieu of Taxes grant; $6.05 million each year through the Supplemental Revenue Sharing Grant; $5.6 million each year through the Mashantucket Pequot & Mohegan Fund Grant; $2.19 million each year through the Local Capital Improvement grant; $1.39 million each year through the Town Aid Road grant; $1 million each year through the Municipal Grant-In-Aid funding program

In addition, the city of Bridgeport will receive funding beyond the normal funding grants available to other municipalities. In the Supplemental Revenue Sharing Grant, Bridgeport will receive $7 million in FY 24.

Furthermore, the taxpayers of Bridgeport will see direct property tax relief through the continuation of the cap on the car tax. With the cap remaining at 32.46 mills, the state will send $9.9 million each year to Bridgeport to pay for the property tax relief provided to motor vehicle owners.

In Bridgeport, the state budget is allocating the following to local non-profits: ACCESS Educational Services – $60k; Yuke Nation Inc. – $15k; The Bridgeport Police Activities League Inc. – $15k; Project LEARN – $7.5k; Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders, Inc. – $500k; Cardinal Shehan Center – $10k; Unique and Unified New Era Youth Development, Inc. – $25k; Hope Center Foundation For Non-Violence and Social Change – $12.5k; Bridgeport Youth Lacrosse Inc. – $110k; East End Baptist Tabernacle Church Inc. – $40k; The SYMI Academy – $10k; McGivney Community Center Inc. – $10k; Yellow Mill Village Scholarship Foundation Inc. – $10k; Unique & Unified New Era Youth Movement – $15k; The Dominican American Coalition of Connecticut, Inc. – $10k; 100 Girls Leading – $15k; East End NRZ Market & Café – $60k; Creative Youth Productions Inc. (CYP) – $15k; Village Initiative Project Inc. – $132.5k; The Willie and Sandra McBride Foundation – $75k; Bernard Buddy Jordan Foundation – $75k; Bridgeport Economic 470 Development Corporation for cultural events – $350k; Full Circle Youth Empowerment – $1M; Bridgeport City Hall for Lighthouse Program – $375k – in 2024 & 2025; Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders – $200k – in 2024 & 2025; Elevate Bridgeport – $200k; Greater Bridgeport OIC Job Development and Training Program – $100k; Cradle to Career – $150k; Bridgeport workplace – $750k

The new state budget also includes $7.8 million over the next two years for gun violence prevention in Connecticut. A portion of this funding will support state-funded efforts in Bridgeport to reduce gun violence.

“Securing funding in our state budget will create opportunities for families to succeed in Bridgeport,” said Sen. Moore. “Non-profits, education, and increasing awareness surrounding gun-violence depicts the vision for the future of our residents. Safeguarding these funds will allocate resources that are detrimental to our community in Bridgeport. This is what Bridgeport deserves. We as a Senate Democratic caucus have taken the initiative to provide our constituents in Connecticut the added resources they need to succeed.”

“This year’s state budget ensures a remarkable future for the great city of Bridgeport,” said Sen. Gaston. “Our priority this legislation was to integrate what was needed most in this budget. Bridgeport will continue to be a community that families can rely on. This budget focuses on the importance of education, providing resources to our local non-profits and working to put an end to gun violence. I am proud to stand alongside my colleagues as we take the lead in building a better future for Connecticut.”

Beyond the support for Bridgeport, the new state budget includes a total of $612 million in personal income and pension tax cuts while providing $300 million more in state aid to local school districts and hundreds of millions more for nonprofits to pay their employees higher wages.

The budget passed today includes the first personal income tax cut in Connecticut in nearly 30 years, and it’s focused on Connecticut’s broad middle class – those earning up to $100,000 a year – although all taxpayers will benefit to some extent.

The current 3% income tax rate on the first $10,000 earned by single filers and the $20,000 earned by couples will drop to 2%, and the 5% income tax rate imposed on the next $40,000 earned by singles and $100,000 earned by couples will drop to 4.5%. The income tax cuts are expected to save moderate income households $300 to $500 per year.

The new budget also expands the income tax credit for Connecticut’s working poor from 30.5% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to 40%, helping approximately 200,000 Connecticut households.

The new budget also expands the income tax exemption for some pension and annuity earnings, expanding it to single filers making $75,000 – $100,000 and couples making $100,000 -$150,000.

On the spending side, local school districts are the winners, with many towns getting more state aid and no city or town seeing a reduction. The new budget provides over $232 million more in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants for Connecticut cities and towns, thereby providing property tax assistance. There’s also $16 million to continue expanded free school meals for children.

Private provider organizations that contract for state-sponsored social services (like aging, disability, corrections, housing, mental health and addiction, early childhood, etc.) will receive $87 million more in each year of the budget, providing 4% and 5.4% cost of living wage increases for their employees.

Other budget highlights include:$3 million to expand HUSKY health care for children up to age 15, regardless of their immigration status; $6 million to expand GPS monitoring of domestic violence offenders across the state; $5.4 million to implement early voting initiatives; Support for public higher education at levels far above those originally proposed