Friends of Brookfield
Support our home Town Govenor in her fight to have a zero percent tax increase! Help Jodi set the gold standard here in connecticut as other states have done. she's proven you can do more with less...now she needs your help to convince those that oppose that idea and want more.
Jodi writes...
Pass budget containing no tax increases
THE Connecticut General Assembly is one day away from its deadline for finishing its work. Yet we still do not have a state budget for the next two years.
In February, I proposed a two-year budget that would cut state spending, consolidate or merge dozens of state agencies, maintain state aid to cities and towns so burdens would not fall on property taxpayers, and give those municipalities much-needed relief from costly state mandates — all without raising taxes.
Tax increases, I said, would be the worst thing we could do in the middle of a national recession. And Connecticut's economy has been terribly battered by this recession. Thousands of families, thousands of lives, have been disrupted by job losses, foreclosures, Wall Street turmoil and lingering uncertainty. Employers, many of them mainstays of Connecticut's economy, have been forced to lay off dedicated workers.
Since I released my recommended budget, the economic picture has gotten darker. Our state has lost 18,100 jobs. We have seen more than 4,000 businesses shut their doors forever. More than 7,500 families have lost their homes to foreclosure.
Four months later, we have no budget. The legislature has not even held a vote on a budget.
Because of the recession, we face enormous deficits for the next two fiscal years, as well as a persistent deficit in the current budget year that ends June 30. I have been working with lawmakers on a new budget for several weeks, but it has become increasingly clear that some simply do not have the will to make the spending cuts we need if we are going to close those budget gaps without raising taxes.
So, last week, I took the unusual step of offering another budget, a second budget, that again contains no tax increases.
Like my budget in February, this budget makes deep and painful spending cuts. They are not cuts I relish making. But the families of Connecticut are counting on their elected leaders to make those cuts and to finish their business on time.
Like my February budget, this proposal preserves municipal aid so that tax increases are not passed on to property taxpayers. It merges and consolidates agencies to make Connecticut's government smaller and more efficient, just like my budget in February did.
Most importantly, this budget is in line with what the people of our state can afford, just like my budget in February. It actually reduces spending from current levels in the fiscal year beginning July 1.
I did this because the bloat of bureaucracy is no more affordable now than when I first spoke of it in February. Families have not stopped struggling since February. And, the underlying truths of our economy have not changed since I laid out my original budget: Connecticut residents and businesses cannot afford massive tax increases.
Consider that nearby states like New York and New Jersey are raising income taxes while Massachusetts is raising its sales tax. The top income tax rates in New York and New Jersey are 8.97 percent (in New York City it's an astonishing 12.62 percent). The top bracket in Rhode Island is 9.9 percent.
Connecticut's top rate is currently 5 percent.
By holding the line on taxes and making the tough decisions now, we will make Connecticut a beacon of opportunity — our state becomes infinitely more affordable for business and infinitely more appealing for investment.
Job creation will climb as more companies move to or grow in a business-friendly Connecticut. We can reverse the "brain drain," keeping our young college graduates in good-paying jobs here. Our housing market will rebound as those graduates and people attracted to our state seek new places to live.
This is not economic theory, it's economic fact.
Frankly, tax increases are the easy choice. But, all they do is feed the beast — and two years later the beast is back, hungry again, and always a little bit larger. Now is the time to make the difficult decisions.
I am not looking for a battle. But I am willing to fight one because it's worth fighting. The people of Connecticut are always worth fighting for. Please join me in the by urging your lawmaker to make the difficult, but necessary, choices and to pass a budget that contains no tax increases.
M. Jodi Rell is governor of the state of Connecticut. E-mail: Governor.Rell@po.state.ct.us.
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If she can do it, we all can and should. That's leadership. If you have found this email informative and think others would as well, please feel free to forward this email on to your friends and neighbors. If not please delete and thank you for the opportunity to share this information with you.
Psssst...pass it on. Get Cranky.
Continue to send this email to all your friends, neighbors and relatives as you have and help re-invent a 21st century town that wants accountability for the tax and grant dollars it gets and gives.
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Please continue to write back with your tips, observations and rumors of what is going on in Brookfield's public schools and government. Like Jodi, we want good government.
Let us know what you think is both right and wrong with the public's business of education and governance in Brookfield. We won't prejudge you nor reveal you as a source.
Happy with the direction of the results shown in test scores? Wonder where the school activity receipts went over the last few years? Have a safety issue that concerns you? Fearful of retribution from Board of Education members? From Board of Finance members? From Selectmen? Been "talked to"?
Drop us a line. Many do and thank you for doing so. See an injustice? Let us know so we can let all your neighbors know and get a consensus of opinion in the community...
There are many people in the community, hundreds, that want to help and thanks for participating in our democracy simply by voting or moreso by volunteering to serve on boards and commissions! We'll focus the discussion on issues that all of you. Thanks for all your support and sharing your issues. As always these represent opinions and thoughts and any conclusions you draw are yours to do.
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