Towns, School District Facing $716,000 in State Cuts

The math doesn't look good for Durham and Middlefield.

The two towns and Regional School District 13 stand to lose more than $716,000 in state revenues under budget proposals currently under review in Hartford.

Last week, the General Assembly's Appropriations Committee further reduced Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's cuts to unrestricted general revenue funds for Durham and Middlefield.

Under the committe's budget plan Middlefield will lose $242,841 on July 1, compared to the $124,026 reduction proposed by Malloy, according to the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

Durham's share of the money will drop from the $134,196 cut proposed by the governor to $191,008, the municipal lobby group says.

In addition, the school district is hoping to restore $282,257 in transportation funds cut under both the governor and committee's budgets.

At Monday night's Board of Selectmen meeting, First Selectman Laura Francis said that the state budget process is in its early stages but that town and school officials need to be vigilant. 

"The thing that bothers me the most…[the transportation] grant started out as $25 million dollars. It was eliminated completely but then $5 million was restored to offer incentives to municipalities to regionalize their transportation contract. Well, what does Durham already do?" Francis said.

"You're penalizing what we have already done for years, taking our money to give to somebody else to do what we're doing. It hardly seems fair,"  she said.

CCM has been critical of the funding cuts for municipalities.

"CCM urges you to ... craft a state budget that protects the interest of Hometown Connecticut and its residential and business property taxpayers," CCm said in its letter to legislative leaders. "Make every effort to fully restore municipal general aid and craft a budget that is fair to towns and cities."