New Haven can expect to receive $90 million this coming year in state payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) — more than twice as much as last year.
The payment is contained in a two-year $46 billion state budget that the State Senate passed Wednesday in a 31 – 4 vote. The state House of Representatives already approved it. The governor is expected to sign it.
The jump resulted from a strategy hatched and led this session by State Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney of New Haven. Looney crafted a tiered approach to PILOT that invested more communities in seeing it reformed — so that local governments get more reimbursement for tax revenues they lose on state-mandated exempt property. (Click here to read about that strategy when he unveiled it before the legislative session) Such reform has been a holy grail for decades for New Haven politicians, given that nearly 60 percent of the city’s property is off the tax rolls.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker promptly trumpeted the news in an email blast and press release, including the above chart.
He credited Looney first of all, as well as state legislators and alders who have been pushing for years for such a change and citizens who spoke up at public hearing.
The press release credited state legislators in the headline. “Elicker Praises New Haven Legislative Delegation for Doubling PILOT Funding for City.”
In the email blast, sent under his city account, he also made an argument that promises to echo throughout his mayoral reelection campaign this year, taking credit for helping make the change happen and contrasting his performance to that of his predecessors:
“I have some amazing news. For decades Mayors have tried to increase the state of Connecticut’s investment in our city, to little avail. After months of work alongside our incredible state delegation, as well as municipal leaders across our state, I am so proud to announce we have succeeded in more than doubling the funding coming to our city every year.
“This funding is a game changer. I’ve heard from so many residents tired of their taxes going up while services go down. That is why I fought so hard to bring other local leaders together to support a proposal, put forward by Senator Looney, that would dramatically increase our city’s share of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program. These dollars have been essential to our city’s ability to fund local government, and every resident deserves a city where we have the resources to operate our basic services. …
“What does this mean for you? This means:
“NO tax increase
“NO cuts to city services
“More investment in residents
“Greater financial stability for our city’s future …”
The roughly $49 million increase in state aid also goes a long way towards satisfying one of the biggest assumptions included in the city budget passed by the Board of Alders on May 26. That budget, which goes into effect on July 1, assumes that the city will receive an increase of $53 million from the state and Yale next fiscal year. The $49 million bump from the state means that the city still needs to find a $4 million increase from Yale in order to fill that gap next fiscal year. The city has been negotiating with the university for an increased payment to the city for months, and an announcement of increased support is expected in coming weeks.