As he travels the state defending and selling his budget proposal, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is admitting his revenue package may not be perfect.
A decision to eliminate state funding for property taxes on manufacturing equipment municipalities are unable to collect has given Malloy and his administration pause in what seems like a whirlwind campaign to garner support for his budget.
In East Hartford, one of the 23 municipalities that would lose money because of the proposal, Malloy said he wasn’t ready to say his revenue package is perfect. He spoke at the East Hartford Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting which was held in the Pratt & Whitney Museum.
“We probably need to make some adjustments and that’s what the legislative process is for,“ Malloy said. “It’s not perfect.”
He said he agrees there’s a disproportionate impact with the elimination of the manufacturing machinery and equipment funding, but he said the town would have been a lot worse if the state hadn’t fully funded the Education Cost Sharing grant. He said when he knows what all the adjustments are that may need to be made then they’ll be able to reach a solution to make East Hartford and the 22 other cities and towns whole.
“We pledge to work with you. We acknowledge that it’s something that should be addressed,” Malloy told the East Hartford Chamber of Commerce Thursday evening. “But I can’t address it until I know everything that people are saying has to be addressed.”
He said “you don’t want me negotiating against this budget,” because “this budget is the best budget that’s going to come out of the legislature and the sooner we get it done the better it‘s going to be.”
Malloy said he tells legislators that “you touch it too much, you own it.” The comment received a round of applause from the group.
East Hartford lawmakers including Rep. Tim Larson, Rep. Henry Genga, and Sen. Gary LeBeau met Wednesday with Malloy’s Budget Director Ben Barnes who solicited ideas from them about how to solve the problem.
Larson said East Hartford Finance Director Michael Walsh has suggested taking the first $14 million the towns collect from the sales tax and redistributing it to the impacted towns until the 23 impacted towns are held harmless.
The total cut for the 23 cities and towns amounts to $44.2 million. Towns which aren’t impacted by the loss of that funding are able to make up for the lost revenue with other alternatives such as boat and aircraft taxes, a local retail sales tax, room occupancy, and real estate conveyance taxes.
Most of the cities and towns impact by the loss of the manufacturing machinery and equipment have an industrial base such as a Pratt & Whitney or Sikorsky.
While Larson and newly appointed East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc said they appreciate Malloy’s comments and are confident he’s willing to work with them to come up with a solution.
However, LeBeau, who helped write the manufacturing machinery and equipment legislation remains concerned.
He said the alternative formula Malloy is proposing creates distinct “winners and losers.”
“No town should be gaining, while others are losing,“ he said Thursday. “It’s unfair.”
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
“There are 23 towns that would see a net revenue loss under this formula while everyone else benefits. That is disproportionate,” LeBeau said. “I would say to those towns that are scheduled to see a gain, do not count your chickens before they hatch.”
East Hartford isn’t the only town that loses under Malloy’s proposal. Other affected municipalities include: Stratford ($2.8 million); Bristol ($2 million); Bloomfield ($1.4 million); Middletown ($1.6 million); Windsor Locks ($1.5 million); Waterbury ($2 million); New Britain ($1.2 million); South Windsor ($1 million); Wallingford ($1.6 million); and Windsor ($1 million).
More State Budget news

Stefanowski Talks Abortion, Employee Raises & Budget In First Press Conference
For a half-hour Wednesday, Bob Stefanowski stood outside the state Capitol and fielded questions on abortion rights and state employee raises in a sign the Republican candidate plans to run a more conventional campaign in this year’s rematch with Gov. Ned Lamont.
Keep reading
Lamont Signs The Budget
Alongside Democratic legislative leaders, Gov. Ned Lamont signed the $24 billion budget adjustment Monday that includes $600 million in tax relief. That’s more than they anticipated they would be able to offer Connecticut residents this Election year because revenue came in higher than expected, but it still creates about an $800 million deficit in 2024. …
Keep reading
ANALYSIS | It’s A Wrap: The Winners and Losers of the 2022 Session
It was a short legislative session, but the House and the Senate were able to move a lot of business this year, including the passage of a $24-billion budget with around $600 million in tax cuts.
Keep reading
Connecticut Acts To Help Its Lead-Poisoned Children
After decades of inertia, Connecticut is finally moving to help its thousands of lead-poisoned children and prevent thousands of other young children from being damaged by the widespread neurotoxin.
Keep reading
Bill Bolstering Contracting Oversight Board In Jeopardy After Lamont Administration Raises Concerns
It passed unanimously in the Senate, but a bill that would give the State Contracting Standards Board greater oversight over state contracting appeared stalled in the House Wednesday on the last day of session. “The governor and I have not talked about the bill,” House Speaker Matt Ritter said. “The commissioners have sent us a…
Keep reading
Senate Approves Tax Cuts, Sends $24B Budget to the Governor
The state Senate gave final approval late Tuesday to a $24 billion election year budget plan that includes around $600 million in tax relief while enabling the state to make an $3.5 billion payment on its unfunded pension debt. Senators voted 24-12 at around 10:30 p.m. to send the midterm budget adjustment to the desk…
Keep reading
House Green-Lights $24B Budget
On a party-line vote early Tuesday, the House passed a $24 billion budget adjustment package containing more than $600 million in tax cuts which Democrats heralded as “historic” and Republicans derided as temporary. Lawmakers voted 95 – 52 at around 12:20 a.m. to send the 673-page budget document to the Senate for consideration before the…
Keep reading
Budget Materials
The General Assembly is preparing to debate adjustments to the $24 billion state budget. Below are a few of the documents we’ve been provided as back-up materials. The budget, HB 5506. Town runs. Car tax impact on municipalities. Finance Committee Power Point.
Keep reading
Lawmakers May Vote for First Pay Increase in 20 Years
With legislative retirements mounting, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were considering Monday raising the salaries of General Assembly members for the first time in more than two decades and indexing their pay in the future. During a morning press briefing, House Speaker Matt Ritter told reporters that funding for pay raises had been…
Keep reading
Amid Surging Revenue, House Prepares to Vote on Budget Adjustments
Connecticut’s House of Representatives was expected to vote Monday on a $24 billion budget adjustment package, buoyed by revised revenue predictions that exceeded expectations by more than $350 million. The revised consensus figures released Monday confirm the surge in revenues that enabled Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative Democrats to reach an agreement last week on…
Keep reading
Dems Detail Budget Deal With $500 Mil in Tax Cuts, Extension of Gas Tax Holiday
Legislative Democrats and Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration announced Wednesday the details of a $24.2 billion budget adjustment package, which they say provides around $500 million in tax relief including extending a gas tax holiday until December. Lamont and legislative leaders outlined the agreement during an afternoon press conference in the state Capitol building. Both chambers…
Keep reading
Health Care Workers Call for New Hires
After a record number of health care workers are expected to retire this year, health care staff called on Gov. Ned Lamont to commit to filling 1,000 vacant positions by August 1 of this year. A record 1,137 state workers who notified the state that they will retire this year comes at a moment of…
Keep reading
Senate Joins House And Votes To Give Raises, Bonuses To State Employees
The Senate gave final approval by a 22-13 vote on a plan to give unionized state workers a set of raises and bonuses. The plan, negotiated by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and a coalition of public sector labor unions, provides three years of 2.5% raises and step increases as well as a total of $3,500…
Keep reading
House Advances Labor Deal In Historic Vote
Lawmakers in Connecticut’s House of Representatives signed off on a plan to give state workers a set of raises and bonuses Thursday in a mostly partisan vote on a negotiated labor agreement. The House voted 96 to 52 in support of the deal with 1 Republican, Rep. Tom Delnicki of South Windsor, joining all Democrats…
Keep reading
Republicans Propose Last-Minute Tax Package
Legislative Republicans pitched a $1.2 billion tax relief plan Thursday which reduces state income, sales and gas taxes and proposes to join other states in suing the federal government to challenge restrictions on spending pandemic relief funds. House and Senate Republicans announced the plan during a state Capitol press conference Thursday morning. It cuts the…
Keep reading
The Budget Battle Begins To Take Shape
Tax collections have improved and pushed Connecticut’s budget surplus to $4 billion, but the state budget still relies heavily on federal funding and without it the state would end up running a “sizeable operating deficit.” The Office of Policy and Management told state Comptroller Natalie Braswell Wednesday that if not for the use of the…
Keep reading