Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven, Hamden & North Haven) today announced that the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) has released funding intended to offset motor vehicle taxes in Hamden, Bridgeport and Torrington.
In January, Senator Looney wrote Governor Dannel P. Malloy and OPM Secretary Ben Barnes urging them to release funding and lobbied the administration throughout the winter and spring.
“I am pleased that the administration has decided to release this funding in order to prevent towns from losing this critical revenue,” said Senator Looney. “This funding will help Hamden balance the current year’s budget and ensure that Hamden taxpayers will not have to bear an additional burden.”
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 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 has been advocating that the Office of Policy and Management issue these supplemental grants.