The governor is trying a new approach to his budget strategy in 2017.
Instead of keeping the entire document and plans a secret, he's decided to provide bits and pieces early, as he send up test balloons for response.
The proposal rolled out Thursday pleased Hartford's mayor, but could make the leaders in other communities uneasy.
Governor Dannel Malloy wants to see more accountability for the money sent to cities and towns each year that totals more than $5 billion. To achieve that accountability, he wants to establish a Municipal Accountability Review Board.
“What I envision in the future is a Connecticut that is more cognizant of the restraints that we have put on these communities and what I think we should stop doing is making it harder for them to be successful rather than make it easier for them to be successful," Malloy said during a press conference in Waterbury City Hall.
The governor picked Waterbury because the city emerged from a version of state oversight in 2006, after it failed to even make payroll before oversight was established in 2001.
Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary helped run the Waterbury Police Department back then, and said state oversight helped the city to emerge stronger.
“I think it’s a great idea personally and I was a bit nervous about oversight but I can tell you firsthand, we lived through those years of oversight and the city has survived many fiscal crisises because of the oversight board,” O'Leary said. "“Waterbury is a survivor in 2017 because of the great work of the oversight board."
The proposal from the the governor would provide four tiers of oversight, with the fourth seeing the highest levels of scrutiny. Despite Hartford's fiscal struggles, the city is facing a $50 million deficit in 2018, he says no single city would instantly be classified as a "Tier 4" city.
"I think the discussion is highlighted by the plight of Hartford but it isn’t about the plight of Hartford.”
The board, the governor suggests, would be able to provide funds for deficit mitigation, help refinance debt, and would analyze all city expenditures.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin praised the idea, saying in a statement, saying, "Citizens deserve to know that taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely and responsibly, and Hartford's books are open."
Last year, Mayor Bronin proposed a state oversight panel that would be specifically tasked with helping the capital city meander tough times, and it was met with fierce opposition from some lawmakers, but especially from organized labor.
Labor unions that represented city workers, firefighters, and police were concerned that such a deal could see cuts to benefits.
Malloy said his proposal he hopes doesn't stir up the same kind of controversy, but added that if a city is in dire fiscal condition, then the state needs to have a mechanism to look at all expenses, even those that were reached through collective bargaining.
“Under the severest of circumstances at the very least we should be opining on that issue if not otherwise taking action.”
Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut