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NECCOG raises alarm over vetoed crumbling-foundations money and uncertain COG funding
Summary
At a Sept. 29 special meeting, NECCOG’s director said a veto left crumbling-foundations relief unlikely and outlined alternative regional COG funding proposals; members warned the governor’s executive order and unresolved state budget could force municipal cuts affecting schools and services.
NECCOG Chair Mr. Ives opened the Sept. 29 special meeting and said the council would hear the director’s report, which highlighted two immediate funding concerns.
The director reported that a legislative appropriation intended to address crumbling foundations was vetoed and that prospects for an override appeared remote; the director said Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds are available and the Town of Coventry has offered to host a multi-town CDBG application with Ashford and Union participating. The director characterized the veto as leaving towns with fewer immediate state options for homeowner relief.
Why it matters: NECCOG functions as a regional support and technical-assistance body for its member towns. The director said the current state budget process has proposed varying levels of support for regional councils of governments (COGs), and that the governor’s pending executive order contains no COG funding. That uncertainty, members said, risks cuts to municipal services and could affect local school staffing.
The director outlined an alternative funding proposal, worked on with two other COGs, that would set a base amount of $125,000 for COGs with populations under 250,000 and $250,000 for those over 250,000, plus additional funds to be allocated by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) based on submitted work plans aligned with ACIR priority areas. Under the proposal’s math for nine COGs (six larger, three smaller) base funding would total $1,875,000. The director said base funding would support statutory obligations (such as POCDs and regional referrals), basic technical assistance, and federal-fund leveraging; discretionary funding would depend on submitted work plans and OPM’s budget posture.
Members flagged immediate local risks. Mr. Sirpenski said his municipal budget would be cut significantly under the executive order, “resulting in larger class sizes and fewer teachers,” and warned the longer the state budget remains unresolved the harder cuts will be to implement. Mr. Ives said media attention on teacher cuts would raise concern across towns and that debate could carry into 2018. Mr. Baldwin urged focus on long-term fixes, not only passage of a budget.
The director also described proposed changes to the Regional Performance Incentive Program (RPIP), saying the draft limits RPIP to COG-initiated programs, simplifies local endorsement to a COG majority vote, and adds ACIR as a recipient of RPIP outcome reports.
Next steps: NECCOG staff said they will pursue the Coventry-hosted CDBG multi-town application and continue work with peer COGs on the alternative funding proposal for submission to OPM. The council did not take a formal vote on this funding proposal during the special meeting.
