March 1, 2013
From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer
Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep,
President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
MORE BREAKING NEWS!
Michigan governor declares emergency in Detroit and will
appoint a ...
manager (Video)
State set to takeover Detroit
city government - Mar. 1 ... - CNN
Money
By Poppy Harlow
and Chris Isidore @CNNMoney March 1, 2013:
12:51 PM ET NEW YORK
(CNNMoney)
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced Friday that
the state will take over the operations of Detroit's city government due to its
long-standing financial problems.
Excerpt: A week ago, a state review board issued a
report saying the city faces a cash shortfall of more than $100 million by June
30, and that long-term liabilities, including unfunded pension liabilities,
exceeded $14 billion. Detroit
has been borrowing to continue operations and would have fallen about nearly $1
billion short last year if it hadn't issued new debt.
The takeover
is short of a formal bankruptcy, but it will include appointing an emergency
manager who would have many of the same powers as a bankruptcy judge. It could mean throwing out contracts with public employee unions and
vendors that the city can't afford, and could lead to further cutbacks in
already depleted city services.
Detroit has 10 days to
appeal Snyder's decision that there is a financial emergency in the city.
Snyder said he has a "top candidate" for the manager post, but that
he won't announce it until after the appeals period has passed.
Snyder, a
Republican, insisted the emergency manager is the best way to deal with the
problems facing the city's operations.
"The
current system has not been working. We have not stopped the decline," he
said. "This is time for us not to argue or to blame, but to come together
as Detroit, Mich.,
not Detroit vs. Michigan, and bring all of our resources to
bear."
The U.S. auto industry, long associated with the
city, has enjoyed a resurgence in the last few years since General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler Group went into
bankruptcy and received federal bailouts. But the auto turnaround has
done little to help Detroit's
finances. While GM's headquarters are in downtown Detroit
and there is still a concentration of auto plants and suppliers in southeastern
Michigan,
there are relatively few facilities within the city limits.
Related: Best car sales in five
years
A week ago,
a state review board issued a report saying the city faces a cash shortfall of
more than $100 million by June 30, and that long-term liabilities, including
unfunded pension liabilities, exceeded $14 billion. Detroit has been borrowing to continue operations
and would have fallen about nearly $1 billion short last year if it hadn't
issued new debt. Continue reading this article at....
http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/01/news/economy/detroit-takeover/
*********************
The Federation asks:
Will Some Connecticut Towns/Cities Follow?
The State of
our State is Not so Stately
The 169 towns throughout Connecticut will be forced to dramatically
increase property taxes as Governor Malloy shifts state aid away from municipal
budgets while concurrently ending such programs as Pilot funding and
prohibiting the collection of automobile taxes while providing no alternative
resource. His budget will push
homeowners and businesses off the State’s own Fiscal Cliff and into a cesspool of growing debt,
deficits, and unsustainable public sector union contracts while he continues to
march to the beat of the public sector unions as the self-proclaimed Son of
Organized Labor. Missing from the
equation of the Governor’s budget, which has yet to be addressed by
legislators, the news media, or municipal officials, is a frank and honest
discussion of State mandates such as Binding Arbitration, Collective Bargaining
and Prevailing Wage Laws. Collectively
these mandates are the primary drivers of state and local property taxes, 85%
of which pay for the personnel related costs of Town and Board of Education
employees.
The Governor, in his last state budget, not only imposed the
largest tax increase in State history of $1.5 billion, but also locked
taxpayers into a 9% wage increase for State employees. He also laid the golden goose of job security
at their feet while Connecticut
taxpayers continue to be thrust onto the unemployment line and homeowners lose
their homes to Tax Lien Sales.
As the Governor proposes ending the collection of automobile taxes,
he should immediately call for ending Collective Bargaining Laws and give the
management of our towns and cities to those whom we elect to office. Instead those management rights have been
steadily chiseled away by arbiters in support of public sector unions as their
wages, pensions and healthcare benefits have become unsustainable. The Federation offers below further
information with the following Invite to FCTO Meet March 23 to substantiate why the State of our State must now be addressed in
an effort to keep businesses from fleeing Connecticut and homeowners from
losing their homes to property taxes they cannot afford to pay.
*****************
Let’s Talk!
As we assess
the State’s Budget, we must question the wisdom of allowing Governor Malloy and
Mr. Barnes to place our towns and our own personal finances at risk.
JOIN THE
FEDERATION ON MARCH 23, 2012
AS WE DISCUSS HOW WE CAN PROTECT OUR HOME
AND BUSINESSES FROM GOVERNOR’S MALLOY’S BUDGET GUARANTEED TO DRIVE UP LOCAL
PROPERTY TAXES!
Date: Saturday, March 23,
2013, Time: 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Location: Wethersfield Library, 515 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT
RSVP/Questions: Susan Kniep
860-841-8032, email: fctopresident@aol.com
Directions: http://wethersfieldlibrary.org/contact/directions.html
*********************
*********************
By Keith M. Phaneuf and Michael Gambina Feb 25, 2013
Excerpt: Rep. Sean
Williams of Watertown, ranking GOP representative on the finance
committee, said he doesn't think Democrats will find the spending cuts needed
to support tax hikes and said he fears it will be hard enough to eliminate the
other revenue gimmicks in the budget. "There is never enough money for
these folks to spend."
Former East Hartford Mayor Susan Kniep, who heads a coalition of more than two dozen
community-based taxpayer groups, predicted most taxpayers wouldn't warm to
Malloy's plan to offer the state's fifth tax amnesty program in 13 years.
These plans raise revenue by temporarily waiving interest and/or
penalties, encouraging tax delinquents to pay. Malloy's budget would raise $25
million next fiscal year through an amnesty plan.
"Every time you give someone a break, the rest of us behind
them are picking up the taxes they owe," Kniep
said, adding that the frequency of these amnesty programs only encourages tax
delinquents to hold out for the next one.
Read the entire article at http://www.ctmirror.org/story/19238/despite-no-tax-hike-pledge-malloy-budget-sparks-ideas-raise-revenue#comments
Gov. Dannel P.
Malloy's proposed revenue plan for the 2013-15 biennium.