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Mayor urges state advocacy after budget cuts to city revenue; councilors and students urged to take concerns to Hartford
Summary
Mayor Pastro told the council that state-level decisions have reduced the city's revenue base—citing a $2.5 million cut and removal of property from the tax rolls—and called on residents and councilors to advocate in Hartford for relief. Councilors encouraged public participation in upcoming legislative and budget committee hearings.
Mayor Pastro used his remarks to frame the city’s budget pressures as driven by state actions and called for concerted advocacy in Hartford.
The mayor said the state has taken properties off the local tax rolls and that the city lost $2.5 million in state support this year. “The state is supposed to reimburse us for the properties they take off of our tax rolls and they do not and then on top of that, this year, they cut us by 2 and a half million dollars,” he said. He described the local effects on families and services, saying many households in New London are struggling: “60 percent of our families are ALICE households. Asset limited, income but employed.” He argued the property-tax system is regressive and that raising local property taxes further would disproportionately hurt low-income residents.
Councilor Dice and other councilors responded by urging constituents and student advocates to testify and write to state legislators. A councilor noted upcoming local budget deliberations and invited residents to attend finance-committee meetings scheduled Tuesday through Thursday, where the education portion will be discussed. Councilors discussed logistics for testifying in Hartford—written testimony, Zoom, or in-person appearances—and said city staff would try to notify interested residents when relevant committee hearings and bill schedules are posted.
Mayor Pastro framed the advocacy strategy as taking the message to the state rather than asking the city’s poorest residents to pay more: “We’re not going to fight amongst ourselves again in this city. We’re gonna fight the people who are crushing us in Hartford,” he said. Several councilors volunteered to help organize residents and students for testimony and letter-writing campaigns.
The transcript records an extended exchange about the effects of state policy on local revenue and the need to coordinate advocacy; no new local taxes or formal council directives were adopted in the meeting record. The mayor and councilors encouraged public engagement in the legislative process and pledged to alert residents when committee hearings are scheduled.
