Archive for the ‘Financial Sustainability’ Category

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Please Contact Your Alder About Tweed

Friday, February 13th, 2009

There’s been a healthy debate in the city in recent weeks over the funding of the Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport. The Airport Authority recently requested a $160,000 mid-year appropriation that would restore 2/3 of the dollars cut from the subsidy from the current budget. The threat is that, if the Authority fails, the city will have to run the airport itself, possibly at greater expense than the Authority does.

NHCAN recognizes the value of the airport for the region, but we do not feel that it is being run effectively. We have two suggestions:

  • All city and state elected officials in New Haven should work together to get true regional or state support for the airport. Currently, New Haven bears the majority of the costs, with help from the state. This should be an urgent priority for everyone who represents the citizens of New Haven.
  • The Airport Authority should cut costs and raise its general aviation fees to make up most or all of its operating deficit. There are clear opportunities to do so, but they are not being seized.

If you share our view, we ask that you contact your alderperson about Tweed. The Board will vote on the mid-year appropriation at their February 17, 2009 meeting.

For a concise summary of both sides of the recent debate on Tweed, click here to download a one-page PDF.

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Posted in BOA, Economic Development, Financial Sustainability, Inefficiencies, Tweed Airport | No Comments »

LETTER: In city’s fiscal squeeze, subsidies unwarranted

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

See this NHR Letter LETTER: In city’s fiscal squeeze, subsidies unwarranted

Monday, November 3, 2008 3:15 AM EST
In her letter objecting to my suggestion that the city should not have given the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament a subsidy, Anne Worcester, the tournament director, notes that it provides significant benefits to the city. Yes, the tournament attracts a large number of visitors — some 81,000 this year. And, the tournament provides affordable tennis lessons to many young people.

But, why should the city’s hard-pressed taxpayers provide a subsidy to a tournament that has many corporate sponsors, receives revenues from television and pays out $1.28 million in prize money?

The city is confronted with a very difficult fiscal situation. Despite an 11 percent increase in property tax revenues, the city entered the current fiscal year with a $6 million deficit. Thirty-four long-time employees were laid off in September. Many other positions have been eliminated through attrition. Funding for the police was cut by $227,000. Funding for homeless shelters was cut by $384,000.

Nevertheless, the city gave Pilot Pen $135,000. It also gave the Shubert theater $260,000, the Grove Street garage $290,000 and Tweed New Haven Regional Airport $550,000. How many people could have kept their jobs if the city hadn’t given those subsidies? How many homeless people could have been provided shelter this winter?

David R. Cameron

New Haven

Editor’s note: David R. Cameron is a professor of political science at Yale University and a member of the city’s Blue Ribbon Budget Review Panel.

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Posted in Budget, Economic Development, Financial Sustainability, Inefficiencies, Mayor, Tweed Airport | No Comments »

Mayor On Financial Problems

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

Although this letter from the Mayor focuses on the national financial mess, New Haven’s financial problems have been years in the making. This was coming to a head without the latest national pressures. What is happening, is now, these issues can no longer be managed with one time revenue infusions from selling City assets, or other financial engineering. We have written elsewhere, and provided testimony, that the budget is mostly personnel related. That is why the Mayor’s letter focuses on union renegotiations. Tweed, Shubert, the trolley to nowhere, and other major ticket items still pale in comparison to the major driver – personnel cost. This is simply a fact of the city budget. The fact that the city employees and the citizens still do not understand this is a failure of leadership on this issue. We need transparent government, multi-year financial projections to make sound decisions, and accountability at all levels of city government and city spending if we want to start digging our way slowly out of this hole. I am hopeful that the current administration will take the necessary steps to greater transparency, community involvement, and encourage honest and rigorous discourse on the financial state of this City so we can begin coming together to right this ship. Have some ideas? Send them our way.

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Posted in Accountability, Budget, Debt Obligations, Financial Sustainability, Inefficiencies, Mayor, Transparency, Tweed Airport | No Comments »

A Little More Transparency. Thanks to the Register.

Friday, August 8th, 2008

Tax on residences actually rises 14.5%, not the often repeated 9.8% line repeated ad nauseum by City Officials. Mine increased 22% this year, and 72% since I moved here 5 years ago. What was your increase?

Read the New Haven Register Article: Tax on residences actually rises 14.5%.

We should have the percent increase/decrease printed on our tax bills just like the cell phone and other bills show what our bill was last time and that it was paid. We need increased transparency on our tax bills.

You might want to take another look at our projections of where taxes are headed. See the spreadsheet or PDF version.

Posted in Budget, Financial Sustainability, Mayor, Transparency | No Comments »

Property Tax Post-Mortem

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

Taxes are due, even if you didn’t get the notice. And if you don’t take a minute to dig out your tax bill from last year, you might not realize the increase. The City of course doesn’t show you this automatically on your tax bill. Most bills show your last payment, but not the property tax bill. I guess they hope you don’t notice. I just calculated the increases since moving here in 2003.

2003 -> 2004 = 2.59571% Increase
2004 -> 2005 = 7.58882% Increase
2005 -> 2006 = 5.45478% Increase
2006 -> 2007 = 21.03510% Increase
2007 -> 2008 = 22.24233% Increase

That’s a 72.22474% Increase in 5 years. Guess where taxes are headed? See the spreadsheet or PDF version.

Posted in Budget, Financial Sustainability | No Comments »

Taxes & Migration: A concern for New Haven?

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

Read this article about the effects of taxes on migration inside the United States.

Posted in Financial Sustainability | No Comments »

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