How Much Funding Does Norwalk Gain In Gov. Malloy's Budget Proposal?

A number of town leaders and legislators across the state are decrying Gov. Dannel Malloy’s budget proposal that has many more losers of state aid than it does winners.

In general, Malloy’s budget would shift state aid away from wealthier suburban municipalities to impoverished cities. In some cases communities may find themselves effectively writing a check to the state to help cover one-third of teacher pension obligations.

A total of 31 municipalities would see state aid increase, while 138 would see a decrease between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018. This takes into account Malloy's proposal to have municipalities pay for one-third of teacher pension obligations.

There is still $75 million in fiscal year 2018 and $84 million in fiscal year 2019 that is unassigned and could go to towns to help offset some losses.

The biggest winners include:

• Hartford: $47,329,739
• Waterbury: $43,134,175
• New Britain: $28,190,652
• Bridgeport: $19,076,073
• New Haven: $16,584,555
• Middletown: $13,343,183
• Danbury: $11,601,027
• Norwich: $11,583,034
• West Haven: $10,328,737
• Hamden: $10,293,310

The biggest losers are:

• Monroe: $-6,533,713
• New Milford: $-6,635,759
• Greenwich: $-6,645,119
• South Windsor: $-6,722,948
• West Hartford: $-7,469,504
• Fairfield: $-7,661,357
• Glastonbury: $-7,992,904
• Wallingford: $-8,142,379
• Milford: $-11,118,105
• Groton: $-12,931,277

Related: Malloy Proposes Tax Hikes To Help Solve CT's Massive Budget Deficits

Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano sharply criticized Malloy’s proposal.

“Let’s be clear about what this budget includes each year: over $200 million in annual tax increases on low and middle income families, over $400 million in new property tax burdens, potentially 4,200 state employee layoffs, and $570 million in expenses pushed onto our children’s credit card thanks to the governor’s pension deal,” he said.

He added that money doesn’t automatically lead to opportunity when it comes to education.

“We have to figure out why money currently going to our cities isn’t getting to our children,” he said.

“Quieting people’s concerns by throwing more money at the problems has failed our cities thus far.”
Malloy pitched the change as something that can not only help big cities but also their surrounding towns.
“We are a small state, and our towns are interconnected,” Malloy said. “Growth in Hartford means growth in Bloomfield and Windsor. More jobs in Waterbury means more jobs in Cheshire and Beacon Falls.”

Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei said the proposal amounted to the state financially assaulting the town, which would go from receiving $1.4 million in state aid to owing $5.2 million. He argued that the state shouldn’t pass the teacher pension bill onto municipalities when it failed to fully fund it.

Instead he suggested Malloy support a bill proposed by the Greenwich house delegation that would exclude retirement benefits state and municipal employee collective bargaining.

Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi said his town stands to lose more than $4.4 million in state aid and much like Greenwich would have to write a check to the state instead of getting aid.

“The ramifications of what this does is far above and beyond what the Governor or his staff considered," he said. "You can't drop a hammer of $4.4 million and say ‘that's what you owe this year."

Instead of throwing money at inner city schools, he suggested that money be used to help get inner city parents more involved in their children’s education.

"It’s a vicious cycle and parents who do not have that education don’t benefit may not recognize that deep need for a good education," Marconi said. "There is no question that the cities need help, and if the money is used on proper programs, let's get our cities where they belong."

Trumbull state legislators were also not pleased with the plan. Republican State Reps. Laura Devlin and David Rutgliano said their town would take a $5.6 million hit, while Hartford stands to gain $47 million in state aid plus a $250 million renovation to the XL Center.

"This budget as proposed will result in a large tax hike for the taxpayers of Trumbull and is unacceptable," Rutgliano and Devlin said in a statement.

Note: Data presented in this report varies slightly from numbers originally released Wednesday from the Office of Policy Management. Excess cost grants are included in these figures, which are generally not reported by OPM as statutory formula grants because they vary town-by-town and year-by-year.

Those gaining include:

• Hartford: $47,329,739
• Waterbury: $43,134,174
• New Britain: $28,190,651
• Bridgeport: $19,076,073
• New Haven: $16,584,554
• Middletown: $13,343,183
• Danbury: $11,601,027
• Norwich: $11,583,034
• West Haven: $10,328,737
• Hamden: $10,293,310
• New London: $9,986,439
• Norwalk: $8,343,138
• Manchester: $8,162,613
• Windham: $6,893,827
• Stamford: $6,369,860
• Torrington: $5,533,331
• Derby: $4,900,455
• Ansonia: $4,754,738
• Wethersfield: $4,629,542
• Meriden: $3,949,376
• Vernon: $3,327,077
• East Hartford: $2,014,244
• Bristol: $1,779,701
• East Haven: $1,108,675
• Naugatuck: $902,643
• Stratford: $834,781
• Winchester: $586,052
• Sterling: $326,056
• Newington: $179,361
• Griswold: $99,707
• Sprague: $5,798

Those losing funding include:

• Norfolk: $42,374
• Plymouth: $42,746
• Seymour: $49,174
• Warren: $59,851
• Preston: $69,146
• Cornwall: $71,043
• Union: $77,583
• Kent: $105,173
• Bozrah: $108,702
• Bridgewater: $111,958
• Chester: $123,688
• Sharon: $126,327
• Goshen: $130,017
• Essex: $148,890
• Morris: $168,321
• Cromwell: $179,360
• Lyme: $183,533
• Roxbury: $212,578
• Salisbury: $218,782
• Columbia: $244,501
• Brooklyn: $261,800
• Sherman: $275,383
• Scotland: $277,028
• Washington: $277,455
• Canaan: $283,343
• Westbrook: $306,000
• Colebrook: $351,482
• Killingly: $381,689
• Barkhamsted: $385,495
• Enfield: $396,966
• Putnam: $435,605
• Hampton: $440,128
• Woodbridge: $492,414
• Chaplin: $502,157
• Pomfret: $503,331
• Portland: $517,061
• Eastford: $554,681
• Willington: $615,016
• Franklin: $615,641
• Beacon Falls: $618,627
• Woodbury: $628,959
• Middlebury: $655,504
• Hartland: $677,199
• Salem: $703,557
• Haddam: $704,930
• Voluntown: $756,965
• Old Lyme: $771,387
• Deep River: $787,790
• Waterford: $793,148
• Southington: $793,459
• Old Saybrook: $850,443
• Andover: $878,301
• Bethlehem: $897,529
• Easton: $908,520
• Thomaston: $938,997
• Middlefield: $942,416
• Plainville: $975,370
• Suffield: $1,001,095
• Ashford: $1,003,228
• Hebron: $1,062,591
• Somers: $1,069,730
• Stafford: $1,075,910
• New Hartford: $1,136,140
• Bolton: $1,145,773
• Rocky Hill: $1,177,087
• Marlborough: $1,223,241
• Redding: $1,253,118
• Bethany: $1,258,098
• East Haddam: $1,268,584
• Southbury: $1,271,384
• East Granby: $1,272,328
• Prospect: $1,314,116
• Harwinton: $1,328,506
• North Canaan: $1,387,086
• Canterbury: $1,396,387
• Thompson: $1,404,361
• Plainfield: $1,453,257
• Montville: $1,513,976
• Burlington: $1,540,754
• Granby: $1,618,346
• Simsbury: $1,624,932
• East Windsor: $1,635,109
• Litchfield: $1,637,601
• North Stonington: $1,640,836
• Woodstock: $1,744,812
• Lebanon: $1,746,759
• Lisbon: $1,775,646
• Ledyard: $1,827,831
• Madison: $1,862,314
• Killingworth: $1,871,678
• Ellington: $1,908,819
• Bloomfield: $1,910,760
• Stonington: $2,025,796
• Canton: $2,117,067
• Mansfield: $2,177,400
• Weston: $2,252,968
• Durham: $2,265,838
• Orange: $2,311,528
• East Hampton: $2,375,361
• Coventry: $2,381,306
• Brookfield: $2,389,760
• Watertown: $2,397,318
• Avon: $2,612,261
• Colchester: $3,099,514
• Branford: $3,135,891
• Bethel: $3,347,196
• New Canaan: $3,468,955
• North Haven: $3,639,275
• North Branford: $3,664,429
• Wilton: $3,904,910
• Guilford: $3,909,837
• Cheshire: $3,934,638
• Oxford: $4,011,024
• Windsor Locks: $4,060,963
• Tolland: $4,116,236
• Farmington: $4,213,626
• New Fairfield: $4,341,669
• Berlin: $4,379,608
• Ridgefield: $4,415,123
• Darien: $4,536,387
• Shelton: $4,650,500
• Newtown: $4,894,661
• Wolcott: $5,100,678
• East Lyme: $5,202,590
• Windsor: $5,318,160
• Westport: $5,378,427
• Clinton: $5,624,322
• Trumbull: $5,659,129
• Monroe: $6,533,712
• New Milford: $6,635,759
• Greenwich: $6,645,119
• South Windsor: $6,722,947
• West Hartford: $7,469,504
• Fairfield: $7,661,356
• Glastonbury: $7,992,903
• Wallingford: $8,142,379
• Milford: $11,118,104
• Groton: $12,931,277

Photo: Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy

— By Rich Scinto (Patch Staff)