Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) today wrote Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Office of Policy and Management Secretary Ben Barnes urging them to release funding intended to offset motor vehicle taxes in Hamden, Bridgeport and Torrington.
The FY17 budget passed by the General Assembly accommodated the completion of revaluations in these three localities when determining the formula for car tax grant distribution. It was assumed that this accommodation would still be there in the FY18 budget given our strong efforts to keep Alliance Districts (which all three of these towns are) to be kept whole as much as possible in terms of state aid.
In his letter to Governor Malloy and Secretary Barnes, Senator Looney said, “As it stands now, Bridgeport is facing close to a $5 million loss of revenue, Hamden almost $1.9 million and Torrington over $1.1 million. This is not something that the General Assembly, or I believe you, would have ever intended.”
In order to address this unintended situation, the legislature in PA 17-4 of the June Special Session authorized the Office of Policy and Management to issue supplemental motor vehicle property tax grants to municipalities that conducted recent revaluations. Since it appears that $5 million is available, Senator Looney is asking the Office of Policy and Management to issue these supplemental grants.