Politics & Government
Potter says axing car tax will be ‘a challenge’
30th District state Senate Democratic candidate has been surprised by the number of young adults living with their parents
By Scott Benjamin
NEW MILFORD – It is July: Squantz Pond, clambakes and the Major League Baseball pennant races.
Why does the tax collector spoil it by sending car tax bills when most other states in the region don’t do that?
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“The car tax comes up frequently,” state Senate candidate Justin Potter (D-30) of Kent says. “But everyone who brings it up also recognizes that there isn’t an easy solution. Their town depends on that revenue.”
“I’m very much in favor of tax relief for working- and middle class- families, and that includes reducing the car tax if feasible and fiscally responsible,” he added in an interview with Patch.com.
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Potter, a small business owner who grew up in Washington, is trying to unseat state Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield, who annexed his first term in 2022 after serving for four terms in the state House.
The district covers 18 municipalities and extends from near Candlewood Lake in Brookfield to the foothills near the Massachusetts Berkshire Mountains.
Former Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R-Brookfield} in 2006 sought to abolish the car tax. In 2013 former Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-Essex) tried to eliminate it for vehicles valued under $28,500.
The General Assembly received a report on the car tax this last winter and by spring legislators started discussion on possibly phasing it out.
Christopher Keating of the Hartford Courant wrote this last April that, “A major problem for the bill is that two highly influential lobbying groups at the Capitol, the Council of Small Towns and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, are opposed to the plan because they are concerned about reimbursements to the towns. Legislators listen closely to any issues that would adversely impact their towns, and they are cautious about making sweeping changes.”
Potter explained, “I think it would be great to eliminate the car tax, but the revenue for the municipalities would have to be made up somehow.”
Harding remarked, “I think we can lower [the car tax.]”
In a phone interview with Patch.com he said the state currently has $4 billion in budget reserves, which represents “over-taxation of the residents of Connecticut. [We should] help invest in our municipalities so that we could eventually phase out the car tax.”
In an e-mail interview, Potter stated, “Yes, we’re certainly in a better position, and theoretically the state could make up the revenue lost by altering the car tax with additional municipal aid. However, given the tight constraints of the fiscal guardrails and many other competing needs and priorities, it seems like a challenge.”
The guardrails, which were approved in 2017, include a volatility cap regarding capital gains income and a spending cap.
In February Keating of the Hartford Courant stated regarding a report on the car tax, “the taskforce offered two policy options for consideration. First, the car tax would be eliminated, and then municipalities could “set their own assessment ratio for real property.” In other words, the traditional 70% assessment on real estate could be increased to 75% or another number, depending on how much money the town wanted to raise. The local taxes would essentially be shifted from cars to real estate Second, the tax would be eliminated for personal vehicles but would remain on all commercial vehicles; truck owners would continue to pay about $193 million annually across the state.”
On a separate topic, Potter commented, “I’d have to say the most surprising thing [I’ve experienced in canvassing ]is the number of young adults I’ve encountered living with their parents. I knew the housing situation was dire, but I didn’t realize quite how bad it is, especially for young adults.”
Housing has been one of Potter’s calling cards. He is president of Kent Affordable Housing and told Patch.com earlier this year that 78 homeowner households in that town pay more than 50 percent of their salary on housing.
He has proposed that more rental housing be made available in central business districts of the small towns and at more affordable rates if the occupants agree to volunteer a certain number of hours to the town each week.
Potter said his recommendations have received “universally favorable” feedback from voters.
He has complained that there isn’t enough housing in Connecticut.
Brookfield Town Center appears to fit the model outlined by Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) during his campaign six years ago. Market-rate housing has been built in that emerging 198-acre Brookfield central business district with easy access to the highways.
Potter said that in some of the small towns in the district it is difficult to have “multi-family housing.”
A Democrat has not captured the seat in the 30th District since 1978 when attorney Joseph Ruggiero of Litchfield won his only term.
Harding’s principal strength appears to be in Brookfield, where he has lived since he was in pre-school, and New Milford, where he is such a fixture that the mayor, Pete Bass, nominated him at the GOP district convention in May.
Those two towns comprise about 40 percent of the voters among the 18 municipalities in the 30th District, which ventures from Brookfield to North Canaan.
However, Potter noted that since 2020, New Milford has added 1,000 more registered Democrats. In the 2023 municipal election, Brookfield Democrats flipped the first selectman’s office, and the local party has had a permanent headquarters since May of last year.
He said he has been regularly knocking on doors and making phone calls in those towns.
On another topic, Potter said he is not sure how he would have voted on the salary increases for state employees that were approved this spring.
Jamil Ragland of CT News Junkie has reported, “The increase for some of about 46,000 employees covered by the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) would total 4.5%, including 2.5% in a general wage increase and 2% for a step increase. Steps are pay scales that reflect how long an employee has been with the state, although not all the employees qualify for that part of the raise.”
Potter remarked, “I understand the concerns” about increases that might be higher than many private sector employes.
Christine Stuart of CT News Junkie reported in March that Harding and state House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora wrote that, “State government, under one-party Democrat rule, has found even more taxpayer money – and a lot of it – to appease the state employee unions. How many people on Main Streets throughout Connecticut are potentially getting a 4.5 % raise this year? How many struggling working families are receiving 4.5 % raises? Why are we increasing fixed costs in the state budget and thereby crowding out funding for other essential services? This potential significant salary increase stings on a variety of levels.”
Potter did say that the salaries for the state employees need “to stay competitive.”
For example, he commented that some engineers at the state Department of Transportation are leaving to take higher-paying positions in the private sector.
On a separate subject, Potter said that he is impressed with the Citizens’ Election Program, which provided him with a $124,100 grant this spring after raising at least $17,300 in small contributions from residents in the district.
The program was signed into law in 2005 by Rell.
Potter commented, “it has helped candidates to spend more time talking to voters instead of on fund-raising.”
However, he added that he hopes that the program will be adjusted in the coming years.
“If they don’t have it keep up with the costs of campaigning, people might opt out and there would be a snowball effect,” Potter explained.
On another topic, Potter said that ranked-choice voting “is a great idea” and he looks forward to the recommendations from the Working Group that Lamont appointed earlier this year.
Under the ranked-choice system voters select the candidates in order of preference.
Potter explained, “[It should move candidates] more toward the middle” of the ideological spectrum.
Resources:
Interview with Justin Potter, Patch.com on Thursday, July 11, 2024.
E-mail interview with Justin Potter, Patch.com, on Friday, July 12, 2024.
Phone interview with Stephen Harding, Patch.com, on Friday, July 12, 2024
https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2024/04/23/house-approves-4-5-raise-for-state-employees/
