Rep. France Focuses on Municipal Fiscal Issues

HARTFORD – The Legislature is currently considering three bills dealing with municipal fiscal issues for which State Rep. Mike France (R-42) provided testimony last week to the Labor and Public Employees Committee at Middletown City Hall.

The first bill, H.B. 5869, proposed by Rep. France, ensures that municipal employers are reimbursed for any unemployment benefits paid to an individual if, upon appeal, it is determined that the individual had no claim to such benefits.

“Unlike private sector employers, who participate in the Department of Labor Unemployment Benefits Insurance system, municipal employers will ‘self-fund’ these expenses using property tax revenue from town residents and businesses,” said Rep. France. “To minimize the further cost to the taxpayer, the Referee or Board of Review should grant the good stewards of our residents’ tax dollars – First Selectmen and Mayors – the ability to recoup the paid unemployment benefits if they prevail on appeal without the additional cost of litigation.”

The second bill, H.B. 6250, addresses municipalities’ income challenges by exempting any funding contributed by a private source from the calculation used to determine whether a Public Works project must abide by prevailing wage laws. Because of current prevailing wage thresholds, municipalities are required to spend more for Public Works projects.

“For many years, Boards of Finance and Boards of Education have made tough decisions concerning budget priorities that have forced the delay or cancellation of Public Works projects due to lack of funds. To fill that gap in some cases, non-profit and community-based organizations have formed to raise revenue to supplement municipal and educational budgets,” said Rep. France. “Municipalities should have the opportunity to make the most efficient use of these funds by being able to accept the lowest qualified bid vice one that may be artificially higher due to the prevailing wage requirement.”

“In addition,” said Rep. France, “I urge the Labor and Public Employees Committee to support H.B. 5075, which would increase the Prevailing Wage Threshold to $500,000 for remodeling work and $1,000,000 for new construction. This bill would enable First Selectmen and Mayors to expend tax revenue more cost effectively thereby having the potential to reduce the property tax burden for these projects on the residents. I would also recommend that the Prevailing Wage Threshold be indexed for inflation on a periodic basis.”

The Labor and Public Employees Committee will determine the next step of these bills.