The latest jobs report from the Department of Labor shows that Connecticut lost an additional 1,700 jobs during the month of December, bringing the total number of jobs lost to 13,300 since June of this year. In the first half of 2016 Connecticut gained 11,300 jobs. The second half of ...
The repositioning of Gold Street was part of the $25 million Intermodal Triangle project to renovate Union Station, streamline bus transit service on the roads around Bushnell Park, and open up more pedestrian walkways. The project is funded through a $10 million federal transportation grant and an $11 million commitment from the city of Hartford as well. The remaining costs were acquired through several smaller grants.
In a concentrated campaign of spending and activism over the past several years, two powerful New Haven unions took control of the city’s Board of Alders. Now the Board’s activities, investigated by the New Haven Independent, are raising questions about whether some Alders are pursuing the unions’ interests over those of the city and its taxpayers.
Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury and Hartford all face mounting debt, pension and OPEB liabilities, coupled with high taxes, high rates of poverty and declining services, according to a forth-coming study entitled Connecticut's Broken Cities. However, Stamford remains the one major Connecticut city that does not qualify as a “distressed municipality.”
Faced with mounting retiree healthcare costs, Connecticut towns are making changes to get out of the healthcare business altogether. Matt Gallagan, town manager of South Windsor, said they no longer provide health benefits for retirees. Instead retirees can purchase a health plan through the town. South Windsor is one of several towns and cities that have moved away from providing long-term health benefits for their retirees.
As Gov. Dannel Malloy and the state legislature grapples with rising costs from unfunded pension liabilities, some Connecticut cities and towns have managed to tackle their own pension problems head on. Municipalities like Danbury, Norwalk, Stratford and South Windsor have switched from defined benefit retirement plans to 401(k) style plans and changing retiree healthcare packages to stem the long-term costs to the towns.