Mark Boughton

Recently I was asked by Governor Rell to serve on a municipal mandate relief commission to help with the growing budget crisis in Hartford. Our charge was to develop a list of unfunded mandates that are passed along to cities and towns by the state and present them to the Legislature for suspension or elimination in the special session that will take place tomorrow.

We were also asked to make recommendations as to where the proposed 84 million dollars in municipal cuts were to come from.

Serving on the task force was an honor, but it illustrates what a difficult and challenging problem the state has.

Here is a news flash…the State of Connecticut is broke. Busted. Cleaned out.

Here is another news flash…it is not going to get any better anytime soon.

It is time that we all recognize that we have entered a new economic era, and that we seize this moment to redefine the role of state government, examine the nexus between the state and the municipalities, and look at the services that we should offer, and most importantly, how we fund them.

Property tax reform has to be the first and foremost item on an agenda of reform. It is an unfair tax because it does not measure the ability of the property owner to pay. Many people in Danbury and across Connecticut are land rich and yet cash poor.

We must develop new funding strategies that reflect our new service priorities and relieve the pressure on the property taxpayer. We also must encourage collaboration and cooperation among cities and towns on the delivery of key services.

Finally, we have to reexamine our economic development strategy in Connecticut. Connecticut is one of the most unfriendly places to do business in the United States.

We need a single point of entry for companies wanting to relocate or expand their business in Connecticut. We need to emphasize that business can be our strategic partner, not our enemy.

We are competing in a global economy, not just a regional or national economy. Connecticut has many attributes that make it attractive for start-ups as well as established businesses. We should  capitalize on those attributes and foster the idea that we are pro-business state- not just a pro-jobs state.

Municipal mandates and further cuts to state services are one strategy that is being used to address the state budget crisis. But there is an opportunity to set a new direction for our state- a direction that will encompass the promise and the potential that is Connecticut. Let’s hope the Legislature gets it.