Monday’s presser
Even Darien’s Republican first selectwoman was on board. In theory.
The exclusive Fairfield County suburb’s first selectwoman, Jayme Stevenson, joined other elected officials Monday in declaring support for New Haven State Sen. Martin Looney’s quest to begin fixing the way Connecticut reimburses local communities for lost revenue on tax-exempt properties — and shortchanges cities.
At stake for New Haven is around $40 million. That’s around how much more state money would flow to the city if Looney’s plan to reconfigure the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program passes. That would go a long way in filling the projected $66 million gap in next fiscal year’s city budget.
Looney, who presides over the State Senate, is pushing a plan to create a three-tier PILOT system. The idea is to give more smaller communities a stake in increasing reimbursements, and thus give a plan to help cities more of a chance to pass the suburban-dominated legislature. As a top tier community, thanks to having around 60 percent of its property untaxable (because nonprofits or the state own it), New Haven would see its reimbursements rise from 26 to 50 percent.
(Click here to read a previous story detailing Looney’s proposal and strategy.)
On Monday the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities gathered elected officials for a Zoom conference to endorse Looney’s proposal. Some surprising guests showed up.
Looney was there of course. So were the Democratic mayors of New Haven and Hartford. So was Democratic State House leader Matt Ritter. The usual suspects.
But Stevenson was there, too. She’s a Republican. She represents the kind of town that usually blocks progress toward equalizing the tax burdens of poor cities and rich suburbs.
Michael Freda was there, too. He’s the Republican first selectman of North Haven.
So was Thomas Dunn, unaffiliated chief exec of the town of Wolcott, which gets so little PILOT reimbursement that it’s practically a rounding error.
All of them expressed their support for Looney’s bill. In concept, at least. They said they recognize that cities need to thrive for the good of the state.
“We need strong cities in Connecticut,” Freda said. “This program is a great step in that direction.”
“The health of our state is dependent on many factors. One of those is the health of our urban centers,” Stevenson said.
Their support represented an undeniable early-stage win for Looney’s quest. It begins to build momentum for a long-sought change.
But Looney’s PILOT plan will cost money. An estimated $122 million. The money has to come from somewhere.
Traditionally, wealthier towns have not wanted the money to come from their residents. Even if their residents pay less of their income in taxes than the state’s poorest residents do. Even if their hedge fund returns get taxed at a lower rate than an urban cashier’s or sanitation worker’s weekly paycheck. Even if their cars and mansions get taxed at a lower rate than cars and houses in cities.
Indeed, the Republicans on the call made clear that some of Looney’s suggested sources of income along those lines — a mansion tax, for instance (read about that here), or taxing capital gains at the same rate of other income — are nonstarters. They might like his concept. They don’t like the idea of paying for it.
“I oppose new taxes,” Stevenson said. “I most definitely oppose a statewide mansion tax.”
She acknowledged that “it doesn’t make sense to make one individual with the same car” pay higher taxes — to pay more in, say, New Haven rather than in, say, Darien.
But “I oppose new taxes,” she said. Period. Including any form of “statewide property tax.”
(After the event, State Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly echoed her stance: “We already know who the majority Democrats want to pay for this, and that’s middle class homeowners in communities across Connecticut. They’ve targeted middle class families’ wallets for years, and now they’re coming after our homes. Senate Republicans oppose Sen. Looney’s Connecticut House Tax which kills jobs.”)
Stevenson noted that the state has recently raised its revenue projections for the coming year. Maybe the money can come from there, she suggested. Or else money already intended for cities through the state’s existing municipal revenue-sharing program could be redirected to Looney’s proposal.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker noted that Gov. Ned Lamont will have a lot to say about how to pay for this plan, if at all, through his soon-to-be-released budget. Lamont dismissed Looney’s proposed mansion tax out of hand. Since winning the governor’s seat thanks to an urban landslide, Lamont, who lives in Greenwich, has also refused to consider urban lawmakers’ request to consider higher income tax rates on people who live in communities like … Greenwich. Or Darien.