Fiscal Responsibility
Adam’s family has been in Hamden for six generations. Throughout that time, Hamden has provided quality education, extensive opportunities, employment, safety, and a sense of community to all– with the majority being driven or supported by tax dollars. But taxes have become unsustainable. Now, his parents and his children, just like many others in our community, will struggle to stay in the town they love.
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Adam's first priority will be to fix our broken finances. There are competing narratives about what our fiscal state truly is right now. We need to arrive at the truth, and from there make the tough decisions to move forward.
On a basic level, the audit must be finished, a finance director must be hired along with properly staffing the Finance Department, and we must deal with the adverse consequences of our current election-year budget.
As Mayor, Adam will strive to change the systems and structures around the budget process to make it more transparent and collaborative. He recognizes the need change the tone surrounding the financial situation in Hamden and pledges to prioritize communication on all levels.
To alleviate the increasing unaffordability, Adam is putting forward a comprehensive plan built around 5 key pillars:
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Controlling spending through an immediate spending freeze on all non-essential items until a line-by-line analysis of the operating budget is complete
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Expanding our commercial inventory
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Diversifying revenue sources
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Engaging statewide experts
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Getting the state to step up
It is imperative to control spending and curb the growth of future costs. To aid these efforts, Hamden’s elected officials have to make a pointed effort to educate the public on the difference between the operating budget, the capital budget, and the many special funds that go into Town expenditures so the whole community can participate in an educated discussion on how to balance these funds to arrest this existential crisis.
We need to grow Hamden’s commercial tax base to reduce the burden on residents– which is where Adam’s vision for Smart, Targeted Economic Development comes in. For example, attracting a medical campus to Hamden would bring high-quality services and well-paying jobs to our community while contributing significantly to the commercial tax base. The addition of high-value medical equipment would also increase revenue through the personal property portion of the grand list—further relieving tax pressure on homeowners. Frankly put, Hamden must put its best foot forward in promoting itself as the prime attraction for quality employers, dynamic service providers, and the best site for highway-accessible light manufacturing in the state.
The level of crisis also requires a responsible administration to consider other revenue diversification strategies, strategies that do not increase the financial burden on taxpayers. In short, the greatest proportion of general fund municipal revenue comes from property taxes and state aid. Hamden must maintain its focus on exploring other grants, lobbying the Connecticut General Assembly for full funding of the State’s Education Cost Sharing Grant (ECS) and Special Education Excess Cost Grant, which has been notably underfunded for decades, and hiring a firm to locate and charge those individuals who evade the Hamden motor vehicle tax, maintaining registration in other jurisdictions. Other ideas that should be given analysis and consideration include Tax Increment Financing (TIF), reviewing local hospitality taxes, a full review of ordinances pertaining to fines, fees, and permits, evaluation of opportunities for “Smart City Data” partnerships, and the creation of an Endowment Fund.
It's time to bring in statewide experts to offer impartial advice, share best practices, and help identify innovative, sustainable solutions to Hamden’s structural budget problems and subsequent tax burden.
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