Durham Lawmakers Back Commission on Regional Sharing

The following information came from a press release:

Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, announced this week that a group of lawmakers, including two representing Durham, have instituted the re-creation of the MORE (Municipal Opportunities Regional Efficiencies) Commission.

The purpose of the MORE Commission is to determine what can be done at the state level to create and look for efficiencies for municipalities through shared services and regionalism, according to a press release from Sharkey's office.

He said it would be “malpractice” for legislators to fail to recognize and act on property tax issues now. The goal of the commission is to “think big and go long.”

Sharkey described the current tax structure in the state as a three-legged stool: sales tax, income tax, and property tax. Because the property tax “leg” is longer than the other two, there needs to be a rebalancing.  

The new MORE Commission will be made up of members of each of the four legislative caucuses: a member of each caucus was introduced and made comments, including:

•         Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, Majority Leader.

•         Rep. Vince Candelora, Deputy Minority Leader (Durham representative)

•         Sen. Steve Cassano, Majority Whip

•         Sen. Len Fasano, Minority Leader Pro Tempore (Durham state senator)

Rep. Tim Larson will chair the new commission.  During his comments, Rep. Larson stated that his charge was to:

•         Make the commission work in a bi-partisan way

•         Obtain public input and comment

•         Be thorough in its investigations

He indicated that the commission would:

•         Look to design new cost saving initiatives for municipalities

•         Look for different was to share services, including educational services

•         Seek new ways to use IT – perhaps using Cloud technology

Rep. Larson specifically mentioned the need to bring CRCOG and others like them to the table.

Rep. Sharkey stated that towns and cities have an incentive to be involved in the work of the commission as they can no longer continue to operate the way the way they have been in past years.  As an example, he noted possibility of looking to make school calendars more uniform so that towns and cities can look to regionalize school bus services.  He also commented that the state needs to step up and handle funding for some services that towns now fund.  He cited the example of special education, which varies from year to year, town to town, and is difficult for municipalities to budget.

Other highlights:

•         The Commission will have four subcommittees:

o   Mandate Relief

o   Education

o   Regionalism

o   Local Revenue Options

•         Sharkey favors elimination of car tax, but admits it is likely not going to happen this year.  Commission should consider this issue, perhaps phasing out the car tax over years.

•         Commission to consider regional service delivery centers

Finally, Rep Sharkey said that members of the MORE Commission are presently being solicited, and he anticipates 50-100 members, including representatives from the four legislative caucuses, CCM, COST, and public unions.