Lamont Budget Breakdown: Here's How Much Aid Your Town Could Get

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont proposed an increase in total municipal aid with a focus on 25 distressed communities that would receive a combined $100 million extra in state and federal funds. All communities will receive at least the same level of current budgeted aid and a majority will receive more.

Municipal aid comes in a number of different forms from the state. There are Education Cost Sharing grants, road aid, capital improvement grants, revenue sharing from casino slot proceeds and payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) reimbursement grants to name a few.

This year is different from others due to a large amount of federal aid aimed at helping local communities handle pandemic-related costs, especially when it comes to keeping schools open.

ECS grant levels would be maintained and federal aid will help provide a 10.5 percent increase.

Districts will receive more than $440 million in support through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program passed by Congress in December. The program is meant to help with coronavirus-related challenges for both the current and coming school years. Lamont also directed a total of $265 million in federal support to school districts through the first federal coronavirus relief bill.

Some legislators have said Lamont’s budget proposal doesn’t do enough to address the issue of equity in communities.

“Equity requires us to do things in a way that is not equal across the board,” State Sen. Gary Winfield (D-New Haven) said during a budget information meeting. “It requires us to focus on things, and it requires revenue quite frankly.”

Several other legislators voiced displeasure with Lamont’s proposal during a budget presentation and said it doesn’t address equity issues enough.

Lamont has resisted calls for more taxes on the rich and has already indicated he wouldn’t support proposals on a statewide property tax or additional capital gains taxes on the wealthy.

Equity is woven throughout the entire budget, Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw said. The recreational marijuana bill would create a commission to specifically tackle issues of equity surrounding the subject.

The Lamont administration also proposed programs to increase postsecondary education and workforce development, including mandating that high school students apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid before graduating and streamlined processes for college enrollment, McCaw said.

Lamont has also proposed that half of recreational marijuana tax excise revenue go to municipalities starting in fiscal year 2024. Municipalities would receive an estimated $26.8 million in fiscal year 2026. Additionally, Lamont’s recreational marijuana proposal would allow municipalities to add a three percent local sales tax on marijuana sales.

PILOT Reimbursement

The PILOT grant program partially reimburses municipalities for non-taxable property that is owned by non-profit organizations such as hospitals and educational institutions or the state itself.

State Senate President Martin Looney proposed reforming the state’s PILOT reimbursement program There would be three tiers of reimbursement rates that take into account the fiscal health of a community, but all towns would stand to gain at least a little more reimbursement than the current system.

Some municipalities are heavily affected by non-taxable property. Around 60 percent of property in New Haven is tax-exempt, according to the New Haven Independent.

The proposed formula would take into account the per capita grand list, which is all taxable property in town divided by the number of residents. Greenwich has a per capita grand list of around $734,000 while New Britain’s is around $50,000.

Communities with a per capita grand list of $100,000 would get 50 percent reimbursement while the middle tier would get 40 percent and the last tier would get 30 percent. The program would cost the state an additional $144 million annually.