
A former mayor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, likes to remind his former municipal colleagues that he’s maintained municipal aid to cities and towns during his tenure.
Malloy told hundreds of municipal leaders Tuesday at the annual Connecticut Conference of Municipalities meeting that he doesn’t intend to “shift the state’s burdens to local communities that rely on the property tax.”
However, municipal leaders aren’t willing to sit back and hope Malloy remembers the plight of local officials as he gets ready to negotiate about $220 million in budget cuts with Democratic and Republican legislative leaders.
Municipal officials and their largest lobby organization want a seat at the negotiating table even though only about 16 percent of the 2016 state budget goes to municipalities.
“If the governor wants a bipartisan approach to the budget, here we are,” South Windsor Town Manager Matt Galligan said.

He said CCM represents 158 towns and their local leaders who want to make sure their residents get the most out of their tax dollars.
“We think we need to be at the table with the governor and the legislature to say, ‘How are we going to move Connecticut forward’?” Galligan said. “If you want real bipartisan, you want some real good solutions, solutions that we do every day to make our communities better, we’ve got them.”
But Malloy and legislative leaders will be meeting privately to discuss spending cuts for a special session.
“I’ve called the legislators,” to the table, Malloy said.
The governor said he doesn’t favor cutting municipal aid, but he’s not going to put any preconditions on the negotiations with Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said they’re asking to be in the room.
“Anybody can send a bunch of ideas and then have them dismissed out of hand, which is the pattern. We don’t want to do that,” Boughton said. “There are global decisions being made. Decisions that impact our municipalities. We want to be at the table.”
He said there’s already been discussions about cuts to municipal aid.
“We know that they’re going to go there eventually. We want to be part of that discussion going forward,” Boughton said.
Joe DeLong, executive director of CCM, said when elected officials shut out municipal government, “you’re really shutting out your communities.” He said the group is not a “special interest.”
But Malloy said there’s a limit to the size of the table. He said inviting local elected officials from 169 cities and towns would be unprecedented and crowded.
Malloy pointed out that he invited lawmakers to the table because it’s their job to balance the state’s budget.
Malloy has the power to rescind up to 5 percent of any line item and 3 percent of any fund without seeking legislative approval. The governor doesn’t have the power on his own to cut municipal aid without the legislature’s approval. However, he also doesn’t have to offer to negotiate spending cuts with the legislature until the deficit reaches 1 percent of general fund spending.
On Tuesday, Malloy refused to predict what would happen when he sits down with legislative leaders to work on adjusting the budget.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
He said his decision to invite lawmakers to the table comes from his frustration that none of them offered any alternative budget cuts over the past five weeks after the first round of $103 million in rescissions was announced.
“I did expect when people say they don’t like things that we’re doing that they would have alternatives,” Malloy said.
He said they “now have to come in” and have those discussions.
More State Budget news

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
Ritter: Time Is Running Short For Budget Agreement
The legislature will have a difficult time approving a state budget before the end of its session in two weeks if lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont do not reach an agreement in the next 48 hours, House Speaker Matt Ritter told reporters Wednesday. During a morning press briefing, Ritter said the legislative schedule was looking…
Keep reading