Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

A Great Guide to the Elections
Legislative Session Begins Feb 6, 2008.� Continue to Check the Legislative Calendar.�� �
Town Profiles Just Released
Governor Rell Says Economic Advisors Warn of Need for �Prudence, Finesse� in Budget
Two Excellent Articles on the taxpayers� high cost of preschool.�
Connecticut Property Taxes in State of Crisis
Reminder:� Nov, 2008 We can Vote for a Constitutional Convention

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A Great Guide to the Elections:�

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Misc/Maps/Feb04-R.html

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Legislative Session Begins February 6, 2008

�Follow the Legislative Calendar http://www.cga.ct.gov/

February, 2008

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TOWN PROFILES JUST RELEASED

Bob Green, rgreen619@snet.net

FCTO Board Member

Salem

Hi, Sue. - CERC (Connecticut Economic Resource Center) has released its annual report of Town Profiles. To see the stats on your town go to http://www.cerc.com/ and click Town Profiles.� Bob

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January 30, 2008

Governor Rell Says Economic Advisors Warn of

Need for �Prudence, Finesse� in Budget

Governor M. Jodi Rell today said her council of economic advisors told her that the outlook for Connecticut and the nation remains mixed, with weakness in several key indicators continuing to drive concern about a possible recession. The nine-member panel said it concurred with the Governor�s intention to present a budget that does not raise taxes or break the state�s constitutional spending cap.

During a meeting in her Capitol office today, the advisers told Governor Rell the U.S. economy is clearly softening, although there remains no consensus about whether a recession is beginning or may begin. The weakness in credit markets continues to have a significant effect on home sales, consumer credit and business spending. Oil prices at or near $100 a barrel are also having a negative effect on economies around the world.

The panel told the Governor that the best course of action would be targeted investments and efficiency strategies that provide assistance where it is needed most and position the state for future growth.

�The good news is that Connecticut is well-poised to cope with an economic downturn,� Governor Rell said. �Our economy is much more diverse than during the devastating recession of 1989-92, when we lost 10 percent of the state�s jobs. We have more than made up those job losses and today our exports are increasing at double-digit rates. Our housing markets are doing better than the national average and we know there are thousands of new jobs coming to the state with expansions at Pfizer, Royal Bank of Scotland and the tribal casinos.

�What we need are smart taxing and spending decisions,� the Governor said. �It is vital that the write our budget with prudence and finesse. The actions we take in the coming days will have consequences far down the road � not only while the economy is weak but when the inevitable improvement follows.

�If we don�t react well now, we will not be positioned well then,� Governor Rell said. �We have to look at this as an opportunity at least as much as a problem.�

Governor Rell presents her budget to the General Assembly when the legislative session begins February 6.

�I have every intention of taking the advice I have gotten today to heart,� Governor Rell said. �I look forward to working with lawmakers to put together a budget that will not only meet our current needs but put us in a competitive position in the future. Our state�s economy has, frankly, made great strides in recent years. If a national downturn is coming, then I believe Connecticut will not only weather it but be among the first � and the strongest � states to emerge from it.�

Governor Rell appointed the panel of advisors in October to assist her in identifying current and future trends in the state�s economy. Led by Don Klepper-Smith, Chief Economist and Director of Research at DataCore Partners LLC, the panel also includes:

� Nick Perna, Ph.D., Managing Director, Perna Associates, Yale University Economics Department and Economic Advisor, Webster Bank

Ed Deak, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Fairfield University
Pete Gioia, Economist, Connecticut Business and Industry Association
John Tirinzonie, State Labor Economist, Connecticut Department of Labor
Todd Martin, Economic Advisor to People�s United Bank and President of Todd P. Martin Economic Services
Susan Coleman, Ph.D., Ansley Professor of Finance, University of Hartford
Steve Lanza, Ph.D., Executive Editor, The Connecticut Economy Quarterly, University of Connecticut
Jeff Blodgett, Vice President of Research, Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc.

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Two Excellent Articles on the taxpayers� high cost of preschool.� The first article is by�� FCTO Board Member Judy Aron.��

�� 1.�� Consent Of The Governed: The First 1000 Days Of CT's Childre...

The First 1000 Days Of CT's Children Belongs To The State. On the heels of CT Governor, Jodi Rell's announcement a few days ago of accelerated certification ...

�

2.� Babes in test land�� http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2008/01/crayons-down.html

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Connecticut's Property Taxes In State Of Crisis

The Day.com February 3, 2008

Juan O'Callahan is executive director of P-SARP, LLC, (60s/70s Post Association of Revitalized People), www.p-sarp.com. He lives in Stonington.

Connecticut has the second highest local property taxes per capita in the nation. Forty-eight states have a better deal for residents who want to live in their homes for their lifetimes.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, although initially indicating there appeared to be scant evidence of a looming crisis over Connecticut's property taxes, is now promoting a cap on annual rates of increase.

Based on articles in local newspapers and from letters to the editor across the state, there appears to be mounting outrage by the citizens of Connecticut, especially so among elderly seniors, in regard to rapidly escalating local property taxes.

If the state of Connecticut were able to hold a referendum on an annual percentage cap for property tax increases, it would pass overwhelmingly. However, unlike many other states, there is no such opportunity for Connecticut voters.

Local property taxes are directly tied to, and depend on, cities' and towns' budgets and annual budget increases. In Connecticut, many � if not most � cities and towns have had runaway annual escalation rates applied to their budgets. In Stonington, for example, the average annual budget increase over two decades has been two-and-a-half times the level of inflation.

According to the press, Gov. Rell's proposal is to legislate a 3 percent per annum cap on local property tax escalation rates. That would be somewhat higher than current Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, but considerably better than the historical 5 percent and 6 percent annual increases of the past 15 to 20 years.

Gov. Rell's proposal will apparently face substantial opposition in the Democrat-controlled Legislature and from local municipalities.

Isn't it time that something be done about the looming property tax crisis in Connecticut?

Perhaps the first step is to help those who are hurt most. Hurt most of all by the inordinate increases in Connecticut's property taxes are its over-70 seniors who are on fixed retirement incomes and living on Social Security and declining nest eggs. Every few years, thousands of widows, widowers, elderly couples and other over-70s have to sell their cherished, longtime homes and move to another town or out-of-state.

At least 24 states have legislation in place that defers or freezes property taxes for its oldest senior citizens ... until they die, move, or renovate their properties. The rules vary state by state. Some states specify that the qualifying senior must be 70 or older (Arizona, Florida, South Dakota) and have lived at his or her home for at least 10 years. Some states lower that qualifying age to 65 or 67 (Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin). Some of the states set the time-in-residence at five to seven years, a few at 15 years. (Other states that offer property tax deferral programs include: California, Colorado, Georgia, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania.) Connecticut has nothing comparable.

In nearly all respects, Connecticut is not only behind the times, but it is punitive to its most mature population. No wonder so many towns and villages empty out in the fall and tens of thousands of Connecticut Yankees go to Florida. Indeed, they often opt to become residents of states like Florida, South Carolina, Arizona or Nevada.

Connecticut's state senators and representatives should wake up to the crisis they are denying. Act now. Place an annual escalation cap on property tax escalation rates (or on cities' and towns' budgets): And begin property tax reform by initially legislating a living break for seniors in their 70s � those who have lived in their homes for a long time and want to stay there until death or incapacitation � by deferring or freezing their local property taxes.

Let's make Connecticut a good home for senior citizens.

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REMEMBER

In Nov, 2008, we can vote

FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

Join FCTO in Working for Property Tax Reform and

Initiative and Referendum