Special Finance Committee Meeting Regarding Reval Phase In Proposal

I will be out of Town for my wedding anniversary early next week, so I've rescheduled the Finance Committee that I Chair to Thursday, June 29th, so that I can take part in the presentation and discussion of the ReVal Phase In Presentation from the Town's CAO, Scott Jackson.

I look forward to publicly hearing the Administration's review of this important topic and to publicly discussing it in the Council Chambers.

All residents are welcome to attend and hear the presentation.

Questions? Please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net

Phase-In of the Taxes

The flawed Revaluation that was implemented this year has left Hamden taxpayers with an extraordinary tax burden for one year. It isn't fair and, in my opinion, shouldn't have been allowed to burden our residents, making seniors and working families choose between paying their average $1,000 tax increase or paying for their medication or paying for their severely increasing fuel bills.

We had an opportunity this year to implement progressive plans to assist our residents in the forms of the two-tiered tax system (one mill rate for motor vehicles and one mill rate for residences) or a phase-in of the Revaluation. The phase in would have allowed for better planning and less sticker shock from the severe tax increase.

I must make clear that I think the Town and its Administration are working in the right direction to correct serious financial problems that our Town is facing, including:

1) an underfunded pension system;
2) health insurance account deficits and rising costs;
3) other deficit accounts created by the financial mismanagement of previous Administrations.

The only problem that I have is that we should have been looking for ways to make this tax hike more palatable for our residents, even in the face of such serious need.

More to come ....