Last week I had posted that the Hartford City Budget had increased almost $150 million dollars since the day Eddie Perez took office in 2001. I also said the mill rate had almost doubled from the low 40's in 2001 to about 75 mills now.
Someone had posted that those numbers were false. Well, here are the actual numbers year by year.
Keep in mind that no Mayor can single handedly increase the budget or the mill rate without the express approval of the City Council. The Hartford City Council needs to share the blame for this just as much as the "strong" Mayor.
Here are the real numbers, is it any wonder why we can't attract new business or spur economic development with tax rates like this? Just to give you some perspective, the next highest mill rate in the State of Connecticut is New Haven at 45.86, much lower than Hartford's. Just for a sampling here are a few others; East Hartford-33.82, Meriden-29.53, Bridgeport-39.64, Waterbury-41.81, West Hartford-38.38, Windsor-28.38. And if you wonder why Stamford is able to attract new business over Hartford, the answer is simple one, Stamford's mill rate is 17.17.For all of the Connecticut municipalities mill rates, click here to go to Connecticut's Office of Policy and Management website
Hartford Budget and Mill Rate Since 2001
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11 comments:
As a naive 21 year old I bought my first house in Waterbury in '99 while the mill was 28. I thought that was high for what residents received in return. I got the hell out of there in 2003 when it was up around 53, which I thought was completely insane. I settled in the Farmington Valley with a mill of 15. I couldn't imagine living or running my business out of Hartford.... 75...That's absurd to say the least
Here are the real numbers, is it any wonder why we can't attract new business or spur economic development with tax rates like this?
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It's not any wonder, and not too wonderful, either. But, is it any surprise that rational, civil, folks and businesses have left when it has not been the policy of our political clique to attract them. The hack class sees its job as administering the ghetto, and passing the occasional ordinance to advance the boundaries of lefty progress. Is there nowhere we can walk after dark? No problem; let's create a new government agency or two, hire a few more hacks to administer them, more than a few spokespersons, and raise taxes to pay for the crap.
Thank goodness the State and the United Ones, in their white guilty wisdom and self-interest, are inclined to pay a substantial portion of our budget. They're willing to pay to keep the ghetto at bay. (Is it not amazing that we are prosecuting a woman for stealing a district's educational benefits?) But, push is coming to shove, Governor Malloy's budget is phony, and it won't be long before a good bit of downward pressure will be applied to the budgets of cities and towns. The State simply doesn't have the money.
Again, you're either totally ignorant or purposely deceptive. How can you talk about the mil rate and not mention the reval and/or phase in of the surcharge? I own a home in Hartford and one in Windsor. I pay roughly the same in taxes (with the Windsor home being the larger of the two.)
Now, if you were talking about car taxes, that's something different. Hartford residents are getting screwed on that. Hence, I register my car in Windsor.
How is that ignorant or deceptive? Those are the numbers. The reality is that Hartford's property owners, for whatever reason, are only assessed at about 30% of the fair market value under special legislation, unlike every other town in the state that is assessed at 70%, as required by State law.
You can try to put all the lipstick on the Hartford budget that you want, but it is still a pig. The fact that you register your car in Windsor says it all. imagine how much other revenue the city loses from like minded people.
I'm beginning to wonder if you might be a Councilperson, I have received tips about a councilperson that might be registering his car in Windsor after buying a condo in Hartford.
Wow, this is pathetic! Looking at the current Council, there's at least one person who has been there those 10 years, Ken Kennedy. Why does Hartford keep voting that guy back in office?
Don't blame you for registering your car elsewhere... If VT had better looking Veteran Tags I'd register all 3 of my vehicles up there...NO PROPERTY TAX on motor vehicles. When we the people - the ones paying the taxes - have more control over what the budgets are used for I would pay the taxes with a smile on my face. But when the majority of my tax payers dollars go towards endless welfare, mindless construction projects, dozens of useless employees on all the payrolls etc etc I don't agree to spend my tax payers dollars on these "causes" so the hell with paying taxes.
Thank you Anonymous @ 9:56. I was waiting for someone from city hall to try and spin the numbers Kevin posted. I log on today and sure enough you didn't fail me. Typical expectations of city hall restored.
The city council is a bunch of scared little children that blame the city's problems on the mayor of the department heads. But when will something change? When Hartford looks like Judgement Day? I bet something will change if we get some fresh new minds that have the drive and love of Hartford to make positive changes.
Corporate Council is a joke. You are better off geting a tickle-me-elmo to make leagal decisions....
To be honest the rate could be 5 and it wouldn't matter. who in their right mind would want to open a store on park street when every morning the shelters send 150 scumbags out to stand around in front of your door and harass your customers. Or maybe you could open one on the ave and have a pack of drug dealers stand out front. Hartford is nothing but a dumping ground for the rest of the states garbage, if you don't work, don't pay rent, don't register your vehicle, and spend you day hanging around the block eating quater chips and juice grenades collecting a free paycheck from the rest of cts tax payers then you'll fit right in. They should just put a big fence around hartford shuttle the last few honest residents out and burn the city to the ground with the bums, junkies, drug dealers, and gangbangers still inside.
Why does Hartford keep voting that guy back in office?
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I tried to respond to this the other day. Let me try ultra ves.
The problem here isn't one or another particular elected official. Spending for "social justice" is the agenda of the Democratic Party. Since "social justice" is an ever elusive goal spending never goes down. The pols/hacks take a cut in the form of salaries/pensions/odd kitchen re-modeling. The taxpayer takes a boot in the ass. But, the electorate is not identical to the taxpayer, and even where there is some slight overlap, the electorate is quite happy with the budget. If it weren't for the State's laws requiring minority representation there'd be nothing but Dems in every election every time here in Nuevo England's Rising Star.
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