Posted on 02/05/2005 10:37:37 AM PST by teldon30
Groton — The region's legislative delegation said Friday that they stand united in opposing any efforts to close the Naval Submarine Base in Groton and they will work this year toward property tax relief and greater recognition and funding of the region's tourism industry.
During a morning legislative forum in Groton sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, the legislators said the region needs to be prepared in case the sprawling submarine base ends up on a federal base-closing list in May.
State Sen. Cathy Cook, R-Mystic, told the audience, “You can rest assured that this delegation is looking at everything in terms of BRAC (the Base Realignment and Closure process).” She also said she and the other local legislators will work toward making southeastern Connecticut “even more military friendly than we are.”
Cook said more than 500 contractors in the state do business with the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton and more than 400 contractors work for companies owned by the Hartford-based United Technologies Corp. “We want to see how we can help our defense industry do more, and get more contracts,” Cook said.
Several of the legislators also said they will back small-business initiatives during the current legislative session, including moves to make health-care insurance more affordable to smaller employers. They also said the coming fiscal year's budget process could make additional aid to cities and towns tougher because budget analysts are already forecasting a possible budget shortfall of up to $1 billion.
Next Wednesday Gov. M. Jodi Rell will present her two-year budget to the General Assembly, where it's expected that she will outline her plans to erase or reduce the expected billion-dollar budget deficit in the next fiscal year.
The state is expected to end its current fiscal year, which ends June 30, with a projected surplus of more than $300 million, aided by gains from corporate and cigarette taxes and higher revenue from personal income taxes. But those revenue gains aren't expected to continue into the next fiscal year, which will begin July 1, and the state's Office of Fiscal Analysis has estimated that the budget deficit will be in excess of $800 million, while Rell has said the figure will likely be a billion dollars.
State Rep. Betsy Ritter, D-Waterford, said she believes the legislature has a strong resolve toward performance-based budgeting and said legislators will also look at tax reform measures, including reform of municipal and state taxes. The legislators said they recognize that the property tax is being stretched thin by municipalities, especially those less-affluent communities that have growing municipal and education budgets financed by a shrinking property tax base.
The delegation said it recognizes tourism remains an important, and growing, economic driver for eastern Connecticut's economy. State Rep. Melissa Olson, D-Norwich, said tourism's continued growth is vital to the region's overall economic development. She said she and other legislators will work to ensure that state tourism funding, already pinched by fiscal constraints, is properly allocated to this region, which is home to the state's leading tourism attractions.
State Rep. Steve Mikutel, D-Griswold, also pledged he would work hard to deliver a budget that benefits eastern Connecticut. “We need to deliver a fair and honest budget and deliver it on time,” the legislator said. “And we don't need to waste taxpayers' money with a special session.”
Don't understand....assumng the base isn't neded..the state and local governments should be dying to get their hands on that WATERFRONT property for development...
The local government understands the financial impact of the base, and the sorry state of affairs they would be in without it. But based on the way service members are treated in the area I wouldn't shed a tear for them if it were to close.
The irony if that liberal "dove" members of Congress from these northeastern states are all for cutting defense spending, but let the cuts affect a base in their backyard and they become hawks.
ping and I suppose you'll want to ping your steely eyes list.
Wow!
Seeing that tower sure evokes some powerful memories!.....first without then with the Stenke hood!
Thanks for posting it!
STS2 ( SS )
Amen, and worth repeating.
You, as I, remember how boat sailors were treated up there, huh?
Nice area if you're not worried about Lyme Disease.
Yup. See my post #10. (SS-368)
Be from the south and a bubblehead....double whammy!
I don't know how it was in the past, but thats the way it is now.
I guess some things never change.
Without the SUBASE, there wouldn't be anything to see on that side of the Thames.
Heres a "Please close craphole Groton and submariners won't dread shore duty anymore" PING!
On second thought, I guess they could annex it into the Mashantucket Pequot reservation so the Indians can have a riverboat too. May even keep them from buying up the rest of Ledyard.
Rotten Groton PING...
Thanks, I found it on the USS Torsk site: http://www.usstorsk.org
When I went through in `72, everyone used the Steinke Hoods.
Thanks for the ping!
Amazing how much they love the us when their a$$es depend on our money, ain't it?
Oh, gosh. It was a regular love-fest up there when the BRAC met in 1993. This from the Congressional district that kept sending Sam Gejdenson to Washington.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.