Nevermind the double-post. It was worth reading it twice!
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.”
LOL
I still remember the love fest.....which ended after SUBASE was off the death watch!
Then, of course, business as usual.
:-(
Would be a bit of history lost though. Every submariner has spent time in Groton. I guess I was lucky and never got stationed there other than for school.
What is that tower in the picture?
It's a submarine escape training tower. They stopped using it in the early '80s because it became unstable, but the City of Groton wouldn't let the Navy tear it down because it was "Part of the Groton skyline". The submarine base WAS the Groton skyline.
Anyway, they built a new underground escape trainer.
Yep, they got me on two counts, too.
Since the early 60s as far as I know and it probably goes back further than that. Or come to think of it, it may have started with the Nautilus, early 50s with the "no nukes" knuckleheads up there.
I know that's all I heard.
NO NUKES!
BABY KILLERS!
WAR MONGERS!
etc.
Sorry for the Dupe post....
Seems like husband and I are the odd ones out. We loved Groton. We lived in downtown Norwich overlooking Chelsea Harbor and I also worked on base. We wanted to go back until Hubby was offered orders to NOTU at Port Canaveral.
Husband was born in the Naval Hospital in Groton.
The best part was the Chief's Club and SubVets. One of the last great ones left on bases.
Too bad there is such a lack of housing up there now.
NIMBY - NIMBY - NIMBY!
I too remember the way sailors were treated anywhere off base from my time there in '63. Move it to Texas!
Nevermind the double-post. It was worth reading it twice!
I first arrived in Groton in 1985, then 1993-1996. It was the same old man all those years. You almost have to admire his persistence.
Whew! Thanks Submariners wife for your comments. My husband was stationed here from 1971-1982 and we liked it so much we stayed here when he got out of the Navy. The schools are outstanding, beaches are lovely, jobs are aplenty and only 100 miles to Boston and 125 miles to NY City. And now with Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun, there is great entertainment. It's not a place to retire to - the taxes are too high but I'm glad I raised my son here. AND We finally got rid of Sam Gejendson.
That one guy is still here and he pickets at least 4 days a week. I was recently warned not to anagonize him as several people have been sent to mast for that in the past few years.
Good thing I'm a civilian then, huh?
We hope to go back next year when Hubby comes up for orders.
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