There will be several winners at Gov. Ned Lamont’s second State Bond Commission meeting on Tuesday, but economic-development projects are not among them.
Approximately $400 million in new financing is recommended to be approved at Tuesday’s 10:30 a.m. meeting in the Legislative Office Building, which comes after the Lamont administration canceled meetings in June, July and August.
Tuesday’s slim 25-page bond commission agenda is another example of the governor’s commitment to curb state borrowing through a self-imposed “debt diet,” while Connecticut still ranks as one of the most indebted states per capita with over $25.3 billion in bonded debt.
Lamont, who favors adding electronic tolls across state highways in an effort to generate hundreds of millions of dollars, has repeatedly said that bonding for non-essential items will be shelved until the state legislature decides on how to fund and repair Connecticut’s aging highways and rail lines.
According to Tuesday’s bond commission agenda, much of the recommended funding is dedicated for school construction, road repairs, state facility maintenance, clean water projects and job development initiatives. Another $25 million in bonding is recommended to assist the more than 30,000 homeowners across the eastern portion of the state suffering from crumbling concrete foundations.
The 10-member bond commission will also consider $4 million for water and sewer main work along East Main Street in Waterbury; $2.9 million for renovations and improvements to Hartford’s Batchelder School; and $2 million to raze the vacant Crystal Avenue Apartments in New London to allow for industrial development adjacent to the State Pier.
Another $10 million is recommended in a second installment to ramp up the state Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship Connecticut initiative, which offers entry-level workers job placement opportunities with manufacturers and employers in other industries.
Unlike most bond commission meetings, there is no funding recommended for economic-development projects overseen by the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority.
The Lamont administration is migrating to a new incentives strategy that is an “earn-as-you-go” approach — where companies must create jobs before receiving assistance. That negates the need for the state to bond money for economic-development incentive programs.
Click here to view all of the recommended projects
CCM calls on Lamont for wider funding pool
Meantime, Connecticut’s municipalities issued a desperate call late Monday for Lamont and lawmakers to approve $150 million in state bonding so they can make critical improvements to streets, water-sewer lines and other infrastructure.
The New Haven-based Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) said that its chief lobbyist, acting on its members’ behalf, issued a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont, outlining their fiscal concerns.
In particular, they urged immediate release of funding under the state’s Town Aid Road (TAR), Local Capital Improvement program (LoCIP), and the Grants for Municipal Projects — $150 million in all — at the next State Bond Commission meeting on Tuesday.
“Without approvals, towns and cities,’’ CCM’s chief lobbyist Joe DeLong wrote to Lamont, “are being forced to delay projects or expend their own funds for repaving and other transportation related projects — many of which are time sensitive and must be completed before the winter season sets in.”
“We recognize that you have limited authority in this matter, and cannot unilaterally ensure
Funding,’’ DeLong said. “However, you have the tremendous benefit of your position to ensure that there is agreement with the Legislature on this highly important matter,” DeLong continued.
Lamont spokesman Max Reiss, in an emailed statement late Monday, said, “Gov. Lamont is a staunch ally for infrastructure repairs and wholeheartedly agrees with CCM that funding to maintain our roads, bridges, and transit system needs to be prioritized.”
“He is going to continue advocating on behalf of these critical transportation projects,” Reiss said, “and will stress the concerns of CCM and local leaders to his legislative colleagues as discussions on a bond package continue.”
This story has been updated
